Defender Max Ram backs himself and Caley Thistle to improve – despite their latest Championship loss heaping the pressure on their promotion hopes.
On Saturday, Inverness, with nine men sidelined through injury, slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Dundee, which was the Den’s Park club’s first-ever league victory at the Caledonian Stadium, at the 15th attempt.
The Caley Jags have now not won in their last seven league fixtures, spanning back to their 1-0 success at Cove Rangers on October 15.
It’s a result which puts them nine points behind leaders Ayr United, who are one point in front of nearest title rivals Dundee following the weekend’s action.
Ram, who was a summer signing from Wycombe Wanderers, has overcome an early-season knee injury to make 11 appearances so far.
Patience vital as Ram targets wins
The assured 21-year-old admits it has been a challenging start to life for him in Scottish football, but he’s sure fortunes will turn for the team and he, in turn, will get stronger.
He said: “It’s always tough when you’re coming back from injuries and into a team which is in a rut at the minute.
“It’s hard on the confidence, but you have to dig in.
“You just have to perform to the best of your ability. The more games you play, the better and more confident you become.
“I don’t feel as if I’m there just yet, but you just have to be patient with yourself sometimes. Hopefully, people will be patient with you as well.
“I know what I’m capable of and hopefully I’ll show that in the games to come.”
Caley Thistle ‘will keep digging in’
Winger Paul McMullan, November’s player of the month in the Championship, showed why he won that prize with a wonderful strike to win Saturday’s game for Dundee.
He was given plenty of space to attack from the left before hitting a deadly angled shot past goalkeeper Cammy MacKay to clinch three points.
Ram felt it was a harsh outcome, given the effort put in by ICT over the 90 minutes.
He said: “There was not much in it at all. We were two evenly-matched teams and I thought we were on top for quite a lot of the game.
“I can’t remember Dundee having too many chances, but the one they did have, they stuck it in the net.
“At the minute, our mistakes are leading to goals. We have to keep digging in as a team and hopefully, the results will follow.
“It’s always going to be tough when you’re not picking up results, especially when you’re not playing too bad.
“But we have good characters in the team to help us through it.
“Once we get more bodies back, we can hopefully turn it around. We just need to keep our noses in the race and hopefully, the results will come.”
Ram sees no reason for Inverness to panic, despite the poor results, and he says they can soon be closing in on their rivals.
He added: “We know the gap between us and first place is nine points, but it’s only the start of December.
“Once we get a couple of wins, the pressure will be on the other sides.
“We’ll look to pick up points wherever we can to close that gap. Things can turn around quickly in football. I’m sure we’ll be alright.”
Away form can inspire Inverness
After three successive home games, ICT are now set for three away fixtures.
Saturday takes them to Hamilton in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
One week later, they return to face Accies in the league, with John Rankin’s side currently bottom of the pack.
Then, on December 23, Caley Thistle go to Partick Thistle on the hunt for three more league points.
Ram reckons decent away results this term can stand them in good stead for the weeks ahead.
He said: “We’ve picked up points away from home this season. I don’t know if that means we do play better away.
“But our results away can give us a little boost in confidence. We’ll use that going into these away games and hopefully come back with the wins.”
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