Manager Billy Dodds believes Caley Thistle showed even in their defeat at Dundee that they are mentally ready for the Championship kick-off this weekend.
Inverness were already unable to qualify from Group E as they lost 1-0 at their Premiership hosts on Sunday.
However, following damaging losses against Dumbarton and Airdrieonians, there was a solidity about ICT, and they were unlucky not to take the tie to penalties against the Dark Blues.
📅 Our August schedule
🔜 The start of our 2023/24 cinch Championship campaign is only just 4 four days away!
🎟️ Tickets for our opening match against Queen's Park this Saturday are available now from https://t.co/iOIFJ8EV0e – Get Tickets in advance to save money! pic.twitter.com/bDv7GcLvBz
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 1, 2023
This Saturday, Queen’s Park visit the Caledonian Stadium for the opening fixture of the league campaign.
The Caley Jags, due to a last-day defeat against Ayr United, missed out on the play-offs and finished sixth in May.
Queen’s lost their final-night title-decider 5-3 against Dundee before being knocked out by Partick Thistle in the play-offs.
Mental toughness shown at Dundee
Dundee needed a two-goal victory to advance to the second round of the Viaplay Cup against ICT, but after conceding to a Zach Robinson goal on the hour mark, Inverness dug deep to ensure no further damage.
With enough striking options at his disposal, head coach Dodds is sure they can show mental strength at Championship level and deliver table-climbing results.
He said: “I know that we’re one of the teams that are capable of putting together a run of results, and I thought we showed the right mental strength at Dundee.
“When we lost the goal, we still wanted to make sure we did our job – the test for us was that if Dundee scored again, they would be through, so we had to not capitulate and just let them do that.
“That’s the kind of thing we’ve been working on, and that’s what we did, so that’s a start.
“That’s what the Championship is all about. You just have to accept it and plan for it, and do the best job you can do, and we’re well set up for that.”
Inverness will aim to attack teams
Former Chelmsford City forward Harry Lodovica joined the club last weekend on a one-year contract and came off the bench at the later stages at Dundee.
Alongside highly-rated former Celtic kid Adam Brooks, Billy Mckay and Austin Samuels, they have the firepower to hit the net against their rivals this season.
Dodds said, if they can keep the door shut, they will have every chance of having a successful campaign.
He said: “I think we’re set up to really attack teams, I really do, and in the main that’s what we’re going to try and do.
“It’s going to be hard, and we’ll have to make sure we’re solid at the back because teams have done it over the last couple of years where they sustain pressure and counter-attack on you.
“You do go away and self-analyse all the time – if you don’t you’ve got a problem – and it can throw you at times but that’s what being a manager is all about.
“We’ve had a lot of positive results since I’ve been here, so you learn from experience and if my team can bring that mental side of it then it will push us that little bit closer to promotion.
“I know we’ve got a team that is good enough, but we have to make sure we get some sort of result when we’re not playing well.
“I’m not going to bang on about it every week, but we’ve started to show that, which is good.”
🎟️ Tickets are available for Saturday's game against Queen's Park
Get behind the team for our first game of the league campaign! 🔴🔵
Get tickets before 12pm on Matchday to save money
Tickets available online from👉https://t.co/apUZaqHl3H pic.twitter.com/Jgo5hcLven
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 2, 2023
Dodds confident of league victories
Since last season, Queen’s Park have a new manager in place, with Owen Coyle moving on to be replaced by former Anderlecht assistant boss Robin Veldman.
Inverness drew 0-0 against Queen’s on the opening day last season and never got the better of them over four league games.
Dodds is confident his players will stand up to the threats posed by the likes of Dom Thomas, Ruari Paton and Barry Hepburn this weekend, with maintaining possession the key to controlling the contest.
He said: “Everyone will just want to get three points on the board, because then we can look forward to going away to Ayr United next weekend.
“I just want my players to do what they have been doing, especially in the Dundee game, and tighten up defensively.
“I’d be worried if my back four were getting pulled all over the place and teams are getting at us.
“That’s not been how it’s gone. Against Airdrie (in the 3-2 loss), we just got caught in possession, and the ball ended up in our net.
“We were better against Dundee, and we still have to improve, but we’ll start taking chances at some point too. When we do, we’ll hurt someone at some point.”
