Caley Thistle midfielder Nick Ross is confident his side will shake off the disappointment of a poor recent run to secure European football for the first time in the club’s history.
Caley Jags moved eight points clear of fourth-placed Dundee United following the 1-1 draw with Dundee at Caledonian Stadium on Saturday after United lost 2-1 at home to Ross County.
The Inverness midfielder is pleased to have a healthy lead at this stage of the campaign and is determined to bring European football to the Highlands for the first time.
Ross said: “We’re in charge of our own fate and that’s all we can ask for. If you had offered us the chance to be eight points clear of fourth with eight games remaining we’d have taken it.
“It’s been a really good season for us. We’re still in the mix for Europe which we’ve never done before and we cannot allow ourselves to get disappointed by the last few games.
“It’s all still there for us in the league and we have a Scottish Cup semi-final to look forward to and that was the aim we set out with at the start of the season.”
Saturday’s draw meant Inverness have taken just three points from their last five league games and Ross said there is a sense of frustration the club’s advantage on the Tangerines is not greater.
He said: “It’s really frustrating that we’re not further ahead.
“We dominated the first half and tested their goalkeeper with some long range shots and then we went 1-0 down early in the second half after they scored with their first shot which was disappointing.
“We got ourselves back into the game but we were disappointed to drop two points. It’s another game this season where we are feeling we have missed an opportunity.”
The Highlanders will have the chance to try to extend the lead on Wednesday when they visit Pittodrie to face second-placed Aberdeen, while United face Dundee.
Caley Jags manager John Hughes compared the imminent head-to-head encounters to a sprint finish in a cycle race and Ross hopes he can be part of what promised to be a tense finale to the campaign.
He said: “We’ve still got to play Dundee United twice, Aberdeen twice and Celtic three times so hopefully I will get the chance to play in those games as it’s going to be a really exciting finish.”