Ex-Caley Thistle striker Graham Bayne reckons the success of St Mirren starlet Jay Henderson in the Highlands proves the worth of using the loan market.
The Inverness club took their bid to reach the promotion play-offs down to the final night of the Championship season before being edged out 2-1 by eventual runners-up Ayr United, meaning they finished sixth in the division.
Billy Dodds’ side also reached the final of the Scottish Cup, with Premiership champions Celtic awaiting them at Hampden on June 3.
Winger Henderson was brought in on a loan switch from the top-flight Saints in January and he was a key figure in the second half of the season as ICT made a late push for promotion.
The highly rated 21-year-old made 26 appearances for the Caley Jags and will return to the Paisley club next month eager to push into boss Stephen Robinson’s plans after they secured a top-six spot this season.
Loan signings can be influential
Bayne, who played for Inverness in the top-flight from 2004 to 2008, insists bringing in determined young players such as Henderson is a winning move which ICT can repeat next term with other targets.
He said: “Jay has been a stand-out every time I’ve seen him play for Inverness. He brings a real bit of quality to the side and has a great work ethic.
“The way Scottish football is going right now, a really good loan signing can make such a big difference.
“Look at Ross County last season, they hit the jackpot with (Watford’s) Joseph Hungbo. This season, they don’t have those kinds of players to make that sort of difference and they’ve been struggling at the wrong end of the table.
“Loan signings in Scotland are having more and more of a big influence in teams’ season.
“When players such as Jay come in and do well, it’s a good indication to the loaning clubs that Inverness is a good place for them.
“It can come down to the attitude of the players as well, where they arrive thinking ‘this isn’t really my club, what difference will this make?’, and their performance levels might dip.
“However, Jay has been terrific from the start, and he goes back to St Mirren next month I’d say with a great chance of being involved in their team on the back of Saints having a great season as well by finishing in the top half of the Premiership.
“He has made a great decision to come up to Inverness and play every week.”
Arbroath switched worked for Bayne
Bayne has personal experience of how loan moves can work, because as an up-and-coming forward, he made a switch which put his career on the right path.
He said: “The best decision I made in my career was when I was young lad at Dundee. I opted to go on a season-long loan to Arbroath.
“Had I not done that, I might have just fallen away, but to go to Arbroath and pretty much play every week, as Jay has done at Inverness, you either put yourself in the shop window, or alert your own (club’s) manager and that stands you in much better stead.”
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— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) May 15, 2023
Fixture scheduling is ‘unfair’
Inverness, who will have had a four-week wait between competitive fixtures by the time they tackle Celtic in the cup final, will face Dungannon Swifts in a friendly on Saturday.
And Bayne said the football authorities have not dealt the Championship team a fair hand due to their focus being on top-table clubs.
He added: “This situation has been created by a stupid fixture schedule. Having a four-week gap between the end of the league games and the Scottish Cup final is ridiculous.
“The Scottish FA can’t just run the Scottish Cup for Premiership sides to reach the final. It’s unfair.”
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