Caley Thistle defender Robbie Deas is excelling and enjoying life as a left-back after learning the game on the wing.
The 21-year-old former Celtic player is part of a back line which has shut out three Championship opponents in succession.
Following 1-0 wins over Arbroath and Raith Rovers, Deas helped ICT post another 1-0 victory on Saturday, as Tom Walsh’s goal made the difference against Ayr United.
Deas, who speaks and plays with no lack of confidence, explained that he’s found himself working his way backwards in teams as the years go on, but he’s enjoying the learning process.
He said: “Growing up I was a winger and I’ve just worked my way back.
“I’ll play anywhere for the team. I’m a left-footed player on the left side. I probably don’t offer too much going forward like Cammy Harper, who has a great delivery, but I’ve a good range of passing and I’ll defend.
“As a centre half, that’s my first instinct and that has shown in the last few games where we’ve had three clean sheets.
“I really enjoy it and I’ve still a lot to learn at left back, as much as I do need to learn at centre half.
“For me it is about getting games and playing well, doing the best I can for the team.”
Continuing to learn the game
Before signing for Inverness CT last August on a three-year deal from Celtic, Deas had loan spells with Cowdenbeath and Alloa Athletic.
He said: “I’m 21, still young, but last year our entire back four was pretty young.
“We all have more games in the bank. I’m still learning my trade. I’m naturally a centre half, but I can play left-back and feel I’m doing well so far this season.
“First and foremost, you need to defend and for me, as a defender, it is massive getting clean sheets.
“It’s like scoring a goal for me, even though I missed two absolute sitters today.
“It means a lot to us to keep teams out.”
Dealt with Ayr’s big threats
Deas explained that, while Saturday’s match with Ayr was perhaps not the easiest on the eye, the Caley Jags merited their latest victory.
He said: “We can’t complain. We’ve had three 1-0 victories.
“We’re not scoring as many as we’d like, but we’re getting the points. That’s crucial in the Championship.
“It wasn’t the greatest game to watch, maybe, but we played well in the second half and showed we could deal with a good team like Ayr.
“They have big lads who fight for everything and it did turn into a bit of a battle in the second half, but we fully deserved the points.
“We need to score more goals, but nobody can complain if we’re scoring one a game and keeping clean sheets.”
More to come from Deas and Co
Although delighted with the faultless start, Deas reckons the team is well equipped to improve as the season gathers pace.
He added: “Personally, and as a team, if we spoke about it I think we’d probably agree we haven’t played particularly good football.
“We know there’s a lot more to come and that only gives us more confidence going into games like Saturday.
“Every game we know how we could play because the intensity of training is great.
“It just shows you that we’re not particularly playing well but we’re getting results, grinding out. The ability and experience is there to do so.”
Fearless for trip to Rugby Park
All eyes are now on the trip to Rugby Park and Deas is not doubting ICT’s chances of getting a positive result.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it massively. Kilmarnock are a big club.
“They are a good team, but there’s no reason why we can’t put them to the sword.
“We’ve proven to ourselves we can do both sides of the game. We can play hard and play good football at the same time.
“It is all about choosing the right time to do it and Saturday will be a good game to play in.”
Digging deep is proving fruitful
The powerful defender reckons tunnel vision, not looking beyond the next hurdle, will serve them well this term.
55' | 1-0
Not sure he knew too much about that one 😅
Duku's cross into the box finds met by Ayr defender McGinty in the box but his clearance comes off Walsh and goes into the back of the net.
GET IN!
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 21, 2021
He said: “We’ve had three very tough games – Arbroath, Raith who beat Aberdeen, and now Ayr – we just need to take it every game as it comes.
“We’ve done well again on Saturday and now all focus is on the following week.”
