Caley Thistle manager John Hughes says he has no qualms about fielding goalkeeper Ryan Esson in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic.
Esson replaced first-choice Dean Brill after 14 minutes of Inverness’ 1-1 Scottish Premiership draw against the Hoops on Saturday after Brill dislocated the same knee that has kept him out of action since late January.
The injury will rule out Brill for the remainder of the season, meaning the former Luton Town goalkeeper will miss Sunday’s semi-final.
Esson deputised for Brill in the 11 matches the Englishman was absent and Hughes says the former Aberdeen goalkeeper will slot into the team seamlessly for this weekend’s Hampden Park showpiece.
Hughes said: “We’ve got a really good deputy in Ryan, who has played the last few games. He’s experienced, so he won’t be fazed on Sunday.
“When he went into the team on Saturday we could see he can handle it – it’s not a problem to him. He’s been there and done it.
“However, we are all disappointed for Dean Brill. I worked with Graham Barrett at Falkirk, who did the same thing. His problem was his knee never got relined properly. He had to retire but when it eventually relined they found a cyst.
“We need to make sure Dean’s in good hands and he is. I feel for him because he’s a real grafter and a worker.
“We adapted the training last week to get him sharpened up and he was making saves all over the place. I really feel for him, it’s a downer.”
Despite Caley Jags taking a point against the league leaders at the weekend, Hughes believes there is room for improvement in his team’s performance on Sunday when the sides meet again.
Hughes added: “We have earned the right to play against Celtic.
“I think we have to be much better than we were in the second half. No matter what arena we go to, or who we are playing against, there are two ways of playing – in possession and out of possession.
“We were organised out of possession, but we need to be better in possession, especially than we were in the second half.”