Scottish Cup match-winner Craig Brewster reckons former side Caley Thistle shouldn’t worry about their lack of competitive action ahead of facing Celtic in next week’s final.
The former Inverness player/manager and boss believes the excitement and focus on stopping Ange Postecoglou’s treble-chasers will more than make up for any lack of match sharpness.
Brewster famously scored Dundee United’s goal in the 1-0 victory against Rangers in the 1994 final as Walter Smith’s Light Blues targeted a double treble – but were beaten by the Tangerines.
Billy Dodds’ Inverness saw their Championship campaign end with a 2-1 home defeat against Ayr United on May 5, a result which crushed their promotion play-off bid after a terrific late surge of form.
The Highlanders have struggled to find opponents to play friendlies against to keep them ticking over for Hampden, with a 3-1 weekend win in Northern Ireland against Dungannon Swifts followed by a closed-door bounce game on Wednesday.
Brewster believes ICT will be ready for one massive effort on June 3.
He said: “It has been a long season; this is the end of it and it’s one last push. Inverness have not played competitive games since the start of the month, but they will have adrenaline and soak up the atmosphere and be ready.
“Everything will take care of itself for the players. They will be pumped up for this one. They must stay in the game as long as they can.
“If you do fall a goal down to Celtic, with their fans backing them, it becomes difficult, so, if Inverness get the chance, they must score.
“Someone can be a hero again for Inverness. It’s happened before.”
ICT’s scoring star hailed by Brewster
Inverness have knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup three times since 2000, a record bettered only by Rangers, with the Parkhead club winning the competition on 10 occasions during the same period.
ICT got back into the cup this season after Queen’s Park were expelled for fielding an ineligible player in the 2-0 Caledonian Stadium win in January.
Since then, they have defeated Premiership opponents Livingston and Kilmarnock before seeing off League One side Falkirk 3-0 in last month’s semi-final.
Billy Mckay scored twice against Falkirk and is now just one goal shy of levelling Dennis Wyness’ club record haul of 101 goals.
Brewster, whose goals for Dunfermline Athletic knocked ICT out of the cup at the last-four stage in a replay in 2004, praised Mckay for his prolific form spanning more than a decade over three spells.
He added: “With Billy having the chance to match or beat Dennis’ record shows a great level of consistency and commitment to the club over many years.
“Billy certainly knows where the goal is. Goalscorers are hard to come by and scoring is the hardest part. If you can get someone to score goals, then you’re on a winner.
“Inverness have done themselves proud to get there. I just hope they can do themselves proud in the final.
“Billy will understand the task he’s got ahead and I wish him and his team all the very best.”
Special goal is always remembered
Reflecting on his cup-clinching goal for Dundee United 29 years ago, the former forward explained what it meant to him.
He said: “When you score the winning goal in the cup final, it’s special. My father told me that was the best day of his life, so these memories are special.
“We were the underdogs – Rangers had such a strong team. That was also my 20th goal of the season, which made it extra special.
“We went to Ibrox earlier in the season and won 3-0, so the manager Ivan Golac totally believed we could win it.
“The atmosphere leading up to the cup final was pretty relaxed, whereas maybe in the Jim McLean years, where the club had been in six cup finals and never won, the atmosphere was maybe more tense.
“With Ivan, he was a totally perfect personality. We had a good vibe that day and started the game really well. We never gave Rangers any encouragement and limited their chances.
“Every player played their part that day – it wasn’t about one individual. It was about the team putting in an all-round great performance.
“After the game, you think: ‘this is going to happen again’, but the truth is, unless you’re at Celtic or Rangers, it’s difficult.
“When you get there, you have to enjoy it, do your best and you just never know.”
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