Caley Thistle manager Billy Dodds revealed star performer Nathan Shaw is leading the numbers game as well as keeping Championship rivals on their toes.
The winger, who can also play through the middle, has been a revelation in his debut season in Scotland after opting to move on from AFC Fylde last summer.
As well as scoring nine goals, including the leveller in Tuesday’s 2-1 comeback victory at Hamilton, the 22-year-old has impressed Dodds and his staff with his impressive work-rate.
ICT, who moved third in the table on Tuesday, host title-hunters Dundee this weekend, with a chance to slice the advantage to one-point with just one fixture remaining, while the Taysiders will still have one game in hand.
Shaw racked up 12.5k against Accies
Four goals in his last six games has underlined Shaw’s class and Dodds reckons his worth is showing up in sheer numbers.
He said: “We have to remember that Nathan came to this club with hardly any first-team experience behind him.
“He’s such a lovely lad, and it took him a while to come out of his shell. Then when he plays, he’s got to get confidence on top of that, and it all comes together.
“It’s not just the technical side. He’s getting that aggressive nature that he had to add to his game, and the distances he’s running are scary.
“He did 12.5km on Tuesday night, and the average is 10 or 11 – if they get that they’re doing quite well.
“All the boys have been working hard. Nathan just stood out because he is giving us an unbelievable technical display, but it jumped out at me because he’s a machine as well. He’s working ever so hard for the team.
“I always get that workload. The numbers are up a bit, but everything is coming together now because we have those numbers plus the technical side.”
⚽ The goals from last night's 2-1 win against Hamilton Accies!
Goals from Nathan Shaw & Billy Mckay completed the comeback and earned us three points! 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/LVwG3mNuKK
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 19, 2023
Mckay’s winner made it six from six
Inverness have won six games on the spin, and eight from nine overall to become real play-off contenders, with Ayr United and Partick Thistle still firmly in the mix.
And Dodds said Billy Mckay’s ice-cool winner from a brilliantly worked move against ninth-placed Accies is down mainly to the efforts from everyone within the squad to deliver results when the matter most.
He said: “You could see what the goal meant to us with our celebrations on Tuesday night. Everybody knew what it means to move into third from where we’ve been.
“I can’t praise everyone highly enough. It has been a collective effort, and I want us to keep that going.
“It’s a huge game on Saturday, but I want people to realise how far we’ve come and how hard we’ve had to work.
“It is an accumulation of hard work, desire and determination to put us in the position we’re in.”
Winning form all down to the players
Caley Thistle, whose regular league season ends at home to Ayr United on May 5, are also gearing up for next Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk at Hampden.
To have come from being outsiders for a promotion spot to having a real chance of at least finishing in those positions has opened eyes nationwide.
When asked what he puts the sensational winning run down to, he added: “The boys. It’s scary what they’ve done.
“We’re a very close-knit group, and I think you can see that. It’s not just the result, it’s the celebrations from the full group.
Magic scenes after Billy Mckay's late winner last night 😍
📷 Photos courtesy from https://t.co/wqTFv322o6 pic.twitter.com/3MNenomNy7
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 19, 2023
“That’s my secretary (Fiona McWilliams), our analyst (Fraser Gorman), we’re such a close-knit group and I think that togetherness has really borne through when it comes to getting these results under severe pressure.
“I knew it was in them, because we’ve seen it before, and the boys have been nothing short of incredible to get back in to where they are and reach a semi-final.”
News for Saturday's massive game #ICTFC #S94 pic.twitter.com/4ktTy3bpyX
— Section 94 (@section_94) April 19, 2023
Conversation