Barry Wilson admits Caley Thistle were envious of Kilmarnock winning the Championship – but he praised the Highlanders for securing third spot.
The Inverness first-team coach was speaking after watching his promotion-chasing side win 1-0 at Morton.
It was a result which ensures ICT will face Partick Thistle or Raith Rovers on May 3 and May 6, with the benefit of home advantage in the second leg.
Partick have eight goals and three points better off going into the final fixtures.
For Wilson, he admits it has been a weekend of mixed emotions, but was delighted the players dug out the victory thanks to Roddy MacGregor’s strike.
He said: “It is job done from our point of view.
“We looked on at Kilmarnock winning the league on Friday against Arbroath with a bit of envy and regret because we felt we should have been up there competing.
“The bad run at the wrong time really knocked us, but credit to the lads. They have bounced back with one defeat in seven and five wins within that spell.
“It speaks volumes for them. They have given us their lot in every game and we couldn’t have asked much more. Today was no different.
“They battled and it wasn’t pretty at times, although in the first half I thought we played a lot of good stuff and could have been a couple up.
FULL TIME: Morton 0-1 ICTFC
Roddy MacGregor's first-half strike secures all three points at Cappielow.
We also secure 3rd place with today's win! pic.twitter.com/HzZpKC9tqJ
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 23, 2022
“We had to dig in at the end. We knew Morton would throw everything at us, but the defence held firm and we deserved three points.”
The Highlanders finish their season this Friday when Hamilton head north on a night when all second-tier teams are in action.