Billy Dodds insists the hard work will continue as Caley Thistle aim to stay firmly within the Championship play-off spots.
The Inverness head coach was on cloud nine as his team sunk second-placed and long-time leaders Arbroath 3-0 on Saturday, ending a three-month, 11-game wait for a win.
The victory kept them fourth in the division, one place and one point ahead of Raith Rovers, who are their hosts this weekend.
Repeat display is required in Fife
Dodds explained their feet will remain planted on the floor as they get down work this week to try and secure-back-to-back victories.
He said: “It’s a good platform, but we have to capitalise on it.
“We can’t just think we’re back after winning one game, it has to be the same next week – take our chances and put bodies on the line, do the defensive side of the game.
“We have a good chance of taking three points if we play that well, but it will be a hard one at Raith.
“It will be a tasty one after their 1-0 win at Queen of the South, they’re tucked in just behind us and Partick are getting dragged into it a wee bit.”
Dodds accepts ICT fans’ frustration
Dodds has been under fire from ICT fans during the side’s barren spell and they answered his pre-match calls to get right behind the players.
The Caley Jags boss understands fully why stick was flying in his direction.
He said: “This is only one win, but I understand the fans’ frustration.
“If I was a fan of a team that wasn’t winning, I’d be giving a bit of stick out.
“I worked in the media for years, and you give your analysis and see where things go wrong.
“That’s the job, I knew that, and I knew when we weren’t winning games – especially after being top and losing that spot – they weren’t going to be happy.
“When you win games, they’re happy, and I asked them to get behind us and help the players. That’s the most important thing.
“I can take it, I will take it, but the players loved it on Saturday. You could see them blossom and I was delighted for them.”
Competitive throughout the season
While he fully accepts results throughout winter have not been good enough, Dodds highlighted the fine margins between success and failure for his team, who to their credit have never been outclassed.
He added: “We’ve only ever been beaten by one goal.
“We’ve lost eight games in the league, and they have all been by one goal, so we have been competitive in every match.
“I know it’s disappointing that we lost top spot, and we were on a wee bit of freefall, but – especially in the last couple of games – we deserved more.
“It hasn’t been games like Ayr United beating Raith Rovers 4-0, we’ve been unlucky in the last couple of games after being competitive.
“They just had to keep giving the same, and it would turn, and it did.”
Players wanted ball throughout game
Goals from Shane Sutherland and Reece McAlear had ICT coasting inside 12 minutes and a second half Billy Mckay goal finished the job as the Highlanders passed the ball with pace and precision as the game went on.
Dodds felt his players could not get enough of the ball as Arbroath struggled to match them.
He said: “I thought the freedom was there to see.
“When you’re not winning games, it can be tense, it can be rigid, you have bad touches and you don’t make the right passes.
“Once we got our goals, we all wanted a bit of it. That’s natural.”
