Caley Thistle are still considering the potential of jetting off to Europe for opponents in a bid to shape up for facing Celtic in the Scottish Cup final.
They lost their final Championship game on May 5, a 2-1 home defeat to Ayr United which placed them in sixth position – outside the promotion play-offs.
With the Scottish Cup final set for Saturday, June 3, the players are within a four-week period without a fixture ahead of facing Ange Postecouglou’s treble-chasing league champions.
It’s understood the Highlanders are looking at all possible options, including heading off to Spain, to get some warm-weather training and game-time.
Sourcing sides at this time of year who have not finished their season or are within their closing weeks of their campaign is proving to be a real test.
Play-off blow scuppered preparation
Head coach Billy Dodds, chief executive Scot Gardiner and sporting director John Robertson are working on a plan, which may not be concluded until after the weekend.
Speaking straight after the loss at Ayr when the chance of any play-off matches had gone, Dodds was concerned.
He said: “We will maybe go away, and I’ve spoken to my staff about it, but we will definitely give the players time off.
“We have to rest – we can’t just keep training for a month. We will come back and try and get a couple of games and prepare properly.
“The play-offs would have been ideal preparation for the cup final.”
Team need tough warm-up tests
Gardiner, speaking to the Scottish Daily Mail, explained the difficulties involved in lining up opponents good enough to get the ICT squad ready for Celtic.
He said: “It’s a real challenge for us to get meaningful games. Right now, it’s proving a very difficult challenge indeed.
“We could not do anything to prepare until we knew our play-off fate on Friday night.
“We gave our boys a few days off after the disappointment, because they had gone seven games undefeated up until the Ayr setback.
“The plan then was to get straight back into preparing for the cup final. But we are now in a scenario where they will return to training with no games scheduled as yet.
“And it’s a real challenge to get them at this stage of the season. Even in England, there is such an intense programme of games – particularly with the Premier League – and it’s the worst time of the year to try and get a game that is going to give us the physical and mental challenge the players need.
“We are going into a game against the Premiership champions, who are a terrific team, so it’s not ideal.”
Fans will hope for better news on this over the weekend, with many frustrated by the SFA’s decision to lock down a 5.30pm kick-off and with the high cost of arranged bus travel to Hampden.
Should Caley Thistle defeat Celtic and win the trophy they won in 2015, they would qualify for the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League play-off round.
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