Former Caley Thistle captain Gary Warren says his old club have to go all out to win the Championship title – as Partick Thistle’s play-off pain showed it is almost impossible to get promoted to the Premiership otherwise.
In 2022, ICT were pipped at the post in the play-off final when they lost to St Johnstone after knocking out Partick Thistle and Arbroath.
Inverness missed out on the play-offs this term despite a late-season rally, however, earlier this month, Partick had a golden chance to make it to the top-flight, but a stunning late Ross County comeback in the second leg of the final ended with Thistle being sunk in a penalty shoot-out.
Since the play-offs were introduced in 2014, only Hamilton, Livingston and Dundee have won through to the Premiership from the Championship – and they were all runners-up in the second-tier.
No side finishing third or fourth in the league have made it all the way, with Partick’s recent attempt as close as that has come to changing.
Play-off schedule too tough for Championship sides
Warren thinks it was a fresh reminder to ICT, who have been out of the top-flight since 2017, going up as the champions must be their goal from day one next term.
He said: “Looking at the Championship, you would fancy Inverness if they can add a few more signings.
“They have to give it a real go this year and make the best of what they have. It’s a league which is really tough to get out of.
“You have to win the league. If you don’t win it, it’s almost impossible to win promotion via the play-offs.
“It’s such a hard task to try and go up via the play-offs, as we have seen with Partick Thistle against Ross County.
“When you’re in those play-off spots, you’d ideally only want to be playing one or two games, but having up to six games is like a mini pre-season, which is tough on the players’ bodies and minds.”
Caley Thistle’s 2-1 last-day loss against Ayr United denied them a shot at the promotion play-offs as they slipped to a sixth-placed finish.
The Highlanders then had almost a month to wait before facing Celtic in the Scottish Cup final, where they lost 3-1 against treble-winners Celtic at Hampden on June 3.
Dealing Dodds in was smart move
Warren is head of professional academy at Premiership side Ross County and the UEFA A-licensed coach has also just launched his own individual coaching course called GW5 Elite Performance.
The 38-year-old, who still plays for Clachnacuddin in the Highland League, feels the Inverness club dealing in boss Billy Dodds until the summer of 2025 was a smart move, following their run to the national stadium.
He said: “Keeping Billy is a great signing for the club and rewarding him with a two-year contract helps in terms of planning and offers stability in terms of the structure of the club.
“He can now work towards shaping his squad.
“To win promotion, the club will need a few new faces.
“It will be good for him, but also good for the club going forward.”
ICT can be proud of run to Hampden
Warren, a Scottish Cup-winner with ICT eight years ago, watched the crop of 2023 put up a decent fist of it before losing against the Hoops in what was Ange Postecoglou’s final act as Celtic boss before he moved to become the Tottenham manager.
He felt the players and staff can take some consolation at making the cup final a decent contest, with the score 2-1 until the final moments when Jota rounded it off for the treble-winning Premiership outfit.
He added: “Although they didn’t win the trophy, I thought the side were fantastic and caused a little bit of worry for Celtic, especially after scoring late on (through Dan MacKay’s header).
“Overall, Inverness can be proud of their performance and the way they conducted themselves in the final, and for reaching the final itself.
“They can be proud of performing so well against a treble-winning Celtic team.”
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