Caley Thistle legend David Raven is urging his old club to follow Arbroath’s lead as they aim to kick-start their promotion push from the Championship.
The Scottish Cup-winning star, who is assistant manager of Northern Premier League side Warrington Town, always keeps tabs on the club he served so impressively for six years until leaving in 2018.
An 11-match winless run for Billy Dodds’ team has seen them fall to fourth spot in the table and they are 11 points adrift of shock leaders Arbroath, who visit the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday.
Dick Campbell’s part-timers have been a revelation and are eight matches away from being the most unlikely second-tier winners.
Raven, who scored the winner in the 2015 Scottish Cup semi against Celtic at Hampden, believes Inverness would be wise to learn from the Angus minnows who are deservedly in first spot.
He said: “If Inverness should take inspiration from anyone right now, it’s Arbroath.
“That shows what you can do with not the best budget. You find a way of playing which suits the players you have and it can (be) effective.
“It’s an amazing story and it filters down south. People, after asking who Arbroath are, take note of what they’re doing this season. It proves what can happen if you get the balance right.
“It’s not easy to achieve, but when you do get it right, money doesn’t matter. Finding the momentum to win games is more powerful than anything. Inverness won’t be doing too bad if they can do that.”
Rejoining Ross County must be a goal
Raven enjoyed many battles with Ross County in the Highlands and he admits Inverness supporters will be looking on with envy at Malky Mackay’s team riding high in sixth place in the Premiership.
However, he concedes there is plenty of work to be done before Caley Thistle can even think about joining their neighbours in the top tier.
He said: “It’s always great to have that rivalry. Let’s not forget though, Ross County are well backed. Their budget would probably blow Inverness out of the water.
“In the not-too-distant past, it was always Inverness who were the main team locally. It must be a bitter pill for Inverness fans to see County doing so well, but it would be great to see them both in the Premiership battling it out again. There is a long distance from that and where the club are at the minute.”
Raven urges side to keep believing
Friday’s 1-0 loss at Partick Thistle came despite a second half where ICT were on top before they were undone by a late Kevin Holt strike.
The defeat came seven days after a 1-1 draw at Hamilton, which was another game where Caley Thistle could have won had their shooting boots been on.
Raven reckons Dodds’ players must take heart from the changes they’ve been creating to give themselves the best chance of improvement.
He added: “You can’t do much more than show you’re hungry and put in strong performances.
“I know fans only want to see the team will, but your best chance of winning is to play well, so it’s encouraging that Inverness have created plenty of chances in their recent games.
“Management, and trying to win games, is a tough job, but if you have drive and positivity in your performances then it can change. You just have to keep believing.”
Push for play-offs can inspire ICT
Raven explained how his current club found a way to get out of a rut to supercharge their push as they sit handily placed in fifth spot in the NPL, just nine points off top place.
He said: “At Warrington, I joined when we’d drawn a lot of games and not winning enough.
“Just like Caley Thistle, we still found ourselves clinging on to the play-off position. Just a couple of wins changes momentum and it can be huge.
“One win is all it can take to get the confidence going again. It usually comes when you least expect it, when you’re backs are against the wall and you might nick a 1-0 win in the last minute,
“Inverness are still in a great position. They’re not going to win the league now and the mindset changes.
“If Inverness now finish the season on the front foot, for example, get into the play-offs they’ll give themselves a chance. Whoever finishes second might find it tough, having not won the league. They will need to get their heads round they’re in the play-offs.”
