Billy Dodds insists Caley Thistle’s hurting players are determined to take their “steely” determination from training into the heat of Championship action against Partick Thistle.
The Inverness head coach is determined to turn around a seven-match winless run as they aim to beat the Jags and try to trim the two-point gap on second-placed Kilmarnock then slice down Arbroath’s advantage of six points.
Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat at Morton was the latest sore one for ICT, who last won in a league game against the Greenock side in December.
Dodds was delighted to see his group react in the right manner from Monday morning onwards and is confident they can transmit that on to the pitch against Partick on Wednesday.
He said: “The boys needed lifted on Monday and that’s what they did. They have been great.
“We’ve worked on how we’re going to go against Partick.
“After the initial 20 minutes of the training session on Monday, the players were right at it.
“We can’t hide from the fact it was a disappointing result against Morton. It’s been the first run we’ve been on where we’ve been asked questions and we haven’t got the right results since I came to the club last April.
“But we drive on and I am positive going forward. I want to turn it as soon as possible, get the confidence back and get a run going.
“We’ve got good players and we’re capable. The response this week has been really pleasing. I can see a steely, gritty determination about them this week.”
Dodds tips Thistle to be confident
Ian McCall’s Thistle head north for this rearranged match placed two spots and two points below the hosts – but with three games in hand.
With Partick’s match against Queen of the South wiped out by the downpours on Saturday, Dodds expects his team will be up against a team with their tails up.
He added: “Partick have got a bit of confidence about them. They have not played since the Ayr United game on February 1. They’ve had a couple of cancellations, so they’ve not played too much football.
“They do have games in hand, but we saw last season how difficult it can be to keep churning out results. You have to keep going.
“It’s very difficult to continue getting good results when you played Wednesday-Saturday-Wednesday, but they will be confident after getting a 1-0 win against Ayr.
“They are a good team and will try and play and that is how they are winning games. We can’t look at what they do. It is about what we do and how we respond.
“We have to be better than we were on Saturday and I know we can be because of the determined mindset.”
Inverness scored a comeback 3-1 victory against Partick in September then followed up with an impressive 0-0 draw at Firhill in October – in a game where they were a saved Sean Welsh spot-kick away from winning.
Superfan’s birthday gifts to Dodds
Dodds, meanwhile, was over the moon when a ‘superfan’ handed him a cake and gifts on his 53rd birthday on Saturday.
The disappointment of the defeat by Morton was lifted somewhat by cheery Cameron MacColl, who was on hand to wish the Inverness boss many happy returns.
As well as a cake with a photo of Dodds on top, the young supporter also gave him a specially-designed ICT birthday card and mug.
It was a nice gesture and comes after Dodds, his management team and players presented Cameron with a signed framed replica shirt last October on his 18th birthday.
Dodds said: “I’d like to show your readers just how kind a gesture it was.
“Cameron is always at the games and is always there to support the team.
“To be given this on my birthday was fantastic and I’m really grateful. Thanks to Cameron and his carer, Sam, it cheered me up on Saturday night.”
