Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds admires revitalised Queen’s Park’s rapid rise to the Championship.
But he wants to ensure the Spiders leave the Highlands pointless on the opening afternoon of the season on Saturday.
The famous Glasgow club have gone professional in recent years, shaking off their proud 152-year amateur status and in the process of moving from Hampden Park to Lesser Hampden in its shadows.
Stunning play-off wins against Airdrie and Dunfermline Athletic, after finishing fourth in League 1 last term, catapulted them into the second-tier for the first time in three decades.
Owen Coyle, ex-manager of Burnley, Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, Ross County and most recently Indian Super League side Jamshedpur, took over in March and guided Queen’s to promotion glory against all odds.
They are backed by one of Scotland’s wealthiest businessmen, Lord Willie Haughey, and they have ex-Motherwell and Hibs chief executive Leeann Dempster at the helm.
Former Scotland, Aberdeen and Rangers striker Dodds applauds his opponents’ back-to-back promotions and change of emphasis.
ICT out to prove they are favourites
However, Inverness boss Dodds aims to ensure it’s his men getting off the mark as they seek to go one step further after reaching the promotion play-off final last season.
He said: “It’s a good story Queen’s Park are going on. They have progressed through the leagues and have moved from amateur to professional and now they’re in the Championship.
“They came through those incredible play-off games last season. Credit to them, they are trying to build and there’s a lot of money being invested in them by the Glasgow businessman (Willie Haughey).
“They are on the way up, so we have to try and show them why we got to the (Premiership) play-off final. We’re a good team.”
Dodds is well aware there will be big interest in Queen’s Park from the first whistle, but he insists it’s up to his side to show why they were a whisker away from a Premiership return for the first time since 2017.
He said: “We have to focus on ourselves and make sure we do our jobs.
“We’re still the favourites going into the game and we’re an established Championship team.
“Queen’s Park are creating a brilliant story – a kind of fairytale – and they want to carry that all the way into the Premiership.
“We have to look after ourselves. It’s about what we do in this game. We have to play as well as we can to beat them, and that is how it will be most weeks this season.”
Aiming to take game to the visitors
Queen’s boast talented stars such as on-loan Rangers kid Josh McPake, forward Simon Murray and experienced winger Louis Longridge in their ranks.
Dodds knows they will be a threat at the Caledonian Stadium, but insists the onus is on his players to make it a difficult day for the visitors.
He added: “We’ve had reports on Queen’s Park. They are very good on the ball. They are tidy in the way they move the ball into pockets, especially middle to front.
“It is up to us to try and break them down and put them on the back foot.
“But we’re at home, so we must take the game to them. They will be tough opponents, like Cove Rangers were last week in the (bonus point win in the) League Cup. We won’t take anything for granted.”
Storming start would be ideal for ICT
ICT began last season in sensational form, winning seven and drawing once in their first eight league games.
Dodds would love a repeat of that kind of form, which ultimately helped take them to a third-place finish and into the play-offs.
He added: “You want a good start, so you are not chasing your tail.
“We got a great start last season and it set us up. We had a disappointing blip in the middle of the season, but it took us to the play-offs.
“You want to get off to a good start and lay down your foundation and platform and build from there.”
Captain Sean Welsh has come through a “tidy-up” knee operation and remains sidelined, but defender Danny Devine is almost clear of his injury.
Midfielder Scott Allardice has a bruised eye from an accidental clash in last week’s Cove tie, but Dodds says he will be fine for Saturday.
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