Caley Thistle star Billy Mckay is confident he and his fellow strikers can unlock watertight Arbroath and seal three precious Championship points.
First half goals from Jay Henderson and Nathan Shaw earned ICT a fine 2-0 home win against Raith Rovers at the weekend which effectively put the Fifers out of the play-off hunt.
Inverness moved up to fifth spot and, if they beat third-bottom visitors Arbroath on Tuesday night, they will be just two points behind fourth-placed Ayr United with four fixtures remaining.
If ICT know if they win their last five league matches, they will finish in promotion play-off position.
However, tonight they face an Arbroath team who have leaked only one goal in six outings, are on a seven-game unbeaten run, and have not lost away from Gayfield since November.
Mckay, who has 15 goals this season, is relishing the challenge as Caley Thistle seek to land what would be their sixth win in seven matches.
He said: “Arbroath have gone back to how they were last season, defensively strong and hard to play against.
“It is up to us forward players – and we have plenty of power and strength in that area.
“Myself, Austin Samuels, Jay Henderson and Nathan Shaw, who both scored at the weekend, Aaron Doran and Dan MacKay – we’ve got a lot of firepower going forward.
🙌 The goals from yesterday's 2-0 win against Raith Rovers
🎯 Jay Henderson with the opener
💥 Great finish from Nathan Shaw to make it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/47NI9z1fQh
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 9, 2023
“We’re looking forward to it, but it is a test for us and we’ve got to make sure we go out and get the three points.”
No room for slip-ups from Caley Jags
Saturday’s deserved win over Raith, allied with Morton and Ayr drawing 1-1, puts ICT’s destiny in their own hands.
Mckay, who needs just five goals to match Dennis Wyness’ club record number of 101, is aware what could be in store, but knows any slip-up hands their rivals the upper-hand once more.
He said: “It is a boost (to be in this position), but we’ve got to take it one game at a time. It is in our hands at the minute, but lose one and it’s not.
“We’ve just got to go out on Tuesday and beat Arbroath, and then we can look to Saturday.
“We know how tough Tuesday night will be, but we believe in ourselves that we can get the win.
“And we believe we can put together a right good run, like we did at this stage last season, and push on into the play-offs.”
Caley Thistle’s Billy Mckay: Only our best display will do
The experienced front man, 34, knows a much-changed Arbroath side since the turn of the year will be tough customers, but is backing Inverness to rise to the challenge against last season’s runners-up.
He added: “Both sides are in form. They have obviously hit a bit of form, which they needed to given the position they were in.
“They’re unbeaten in seven now, which just shows what a tough team they are to play against. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen that.
“We had a big victory down at their place at the start of this year (4-1 in January), but they will be a different team to that. They have different personnel now in the team as well.
“We’ve got to show we’re at our best and we believe if we are, we’ll beat anyone in this league.”
And Mckay senses the united backing from the stands matches the appetite within the dressing room to go out and secure a top-four finish.
He said: “We know every game is a must-win and the fans feel it as well.
“They were right behind us at the weekend. They obviously have something massive to look forward to in a few weeks, but we’re focusing on every league game and trying to climb that table.
“On Tuesday, hopefully, we’ll go and get another win and be very close to the play-offs.”
Hampden thoughts shelved for now
On April 29, ICT will face League 1 Falkirk at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-finals for the right to take on Celtic or Rangers in the final.
Mckay, however, says the heavy schedule of high-pressure Championship games is ensuring their attention is only on the pursuit of three points at all times.
He said: “After we beat Kilmarnock in the quarter-finals, it felt like it was ages away.
“Winning the last couple of games in the league has really given us a different focus.
“I think the players have realised that now and are focusing on every game. We’ve kind of put it to the back of our minds now.
🏆🎟️ Semi Final Ticket Sales and Collections will be available from 10am – 2pm from the Club Shop tomorrow
Between 2pm and kick-off only tickets will be available for the game v Raith Rovers. pic.twitter.com/zXabZB9Qf2
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 7, 2023
“It is something to look forward to, but we can’t look at it now – we have another task in front of us and that’s to make sure we win every game in the league.
“If we win every one, we will be in the play-offs, so that’s what our target is.”
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