Goalkeeper Mark Ridgers hopes to beat a club record set by coach Ryan Esson this season – because it means Caley Thistle should be in the Championship title mix.
Scottish Cup winner Esson holds the equal-best run of clean sheets achieved in a single campaign.
Esson’s super surge of 22 clean sheets, including 18 in the league, helped ICT win promotion back to the Premiership in 2009/10.
Congratulations to @ICTFC keeper @MarkRidgers on making his 200th appearance for the club 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
…its catching pic.twitter.com/bLC6Q5nJWv
— Behalt Goalkeeping (@BehaltKeeps) July 31, 2022
That tally was matched by Dean Brill in 2013/14, and Esson this week urged Ridgers to target that high bar, having reached the 200-appearance-mark in Saturday’s 1-1 league opener against Queen’s Park.
Just a few months ago, Ridgers overtook Mark Brown for having the most shut-outs at the club when he reached 67 blanks and he’s now on 71.
Esson and Mackay so vital – Ridgers
Ridgers, who joined his home-city club in 2017, explained Esson, who is also a first team and under-18s coach, plays a key role in his success between the posts.
He said: “You don’t really think about records until you get closer to them.
“The clean sheet record for the club, any goalkeeper would be proud of that – and 200 appearances as well.
“Ryan’s clean sheet record, if I do break that, will mean we as a team have a good chance of being up near the top of the table.
“Working with Ryan, since I came to the club, has been brilliant. He understands me and I think that’s really important.
“I’m 31, coming on 32 now. There’s not really a lot in my game you can change.
“It’s about working with what I have and Ryan is excellent at doing that.
“Everything I do, every clean sheet, the first person I go and see is him. I shake his hand, because it comes from working with him and (fellow goalkeeper) Cammy Mackay as well.
“What brings the best out of me is having a stable environment around me with good people like them.”
Boss Dodds sends out belief message
Caley Thistle head to Arbroath on Saturday, looking for a win against last year’s runners-up, who they beat in the promotion play-off semis in May before losing to St Johnstone.
Having fallen at the final hurdle last time, Inverness are focused on trying to win the title and go up without any play-off drama.
Ridgers revealed head coach Billy Dodds has ensured the squad goes into this campaign believing they can become the league winners.
He said: “The biggest thing, based on last year, is belief really.
“The manager is brilliant at that. He is so positive and gets all the lads going.
“It is about belief in the ability we have because we’ve got a good team, no question.
“It is about trying to show it every week.
📅 Our fixtures for August pic.twitter.com/afhu49Goof
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 1, 2022
“At key points in games, whether ahead or chasing the game, it is about managing the game and not over-committing to give the opposition the chance to score.
“We have enough quality to win games and, looking at the league, there’s nobody we fear, so we have to take that belief with us into each test we face.
“We can’t look too far forward. It literally has to be game by game.
“The new boys will soon realise that as well.”
Wind will test ICT – even in August!
And Ridgers, whose former clubs include Hearts, St Mirren and Orlando B, joked that a trip to Arbroath’s Gayfield – even in August – brings its own challenges beside the North Sea.
However, the sole focus won’t be on the wind, but coming back up the road with a win before hosting Cove Rangers next weekend.
He added: “It doesn’t matter when we play them, it’s bad.
“Even when it is a home game, they seem to bring the weather with them. I always joke with their boys on the field about that.
“Listen, it is what it is – the same for both teams.
“We just have to go out there and do what we did last time, make ourselves hard to beat and if we nick a goal, win 1-0, I’ll be happy.
“Ultimately, the three points on the board is what we need to kick-start the season after the opening day draw.”
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