Caley Thistle boss Billy Dodds backs his Scottish Cup runners-up to prove how good a side they are by delivering big results in the Championship this season.
Ahead of Saturday’s home opener against Queen’s Park, Dodds – who signed a two-year contract extension this summer – is ready for this latest tilt at promotion from the second-tier.
This is Dodds’ third season in charge at Inverness. In 2021, they made it all the way to the play-off final, seeing off Partick Thistle and Arbroath, before being beaten by St Johnstone.
Last season, a last-day 2-1 loss at home to Ayr United cost them a play-off place, yet the Highlanders reached the Scottish Cup final where they lost 3-1 to treble-winners Celtic.
Cup runners-up have ‘added quality’
When asked what he feels he’s learned from two years in the hotseat, Dodds said: “I can take how close we’ve been – we were one goal away from reaching the play-offs last year, and we reached a cup final.
“We have a really good spine to the team, we’ve got good players, so if we can be more consistent, we won’t be far away.
“That’s what I’ve been working hard on as a manager. You look back and think we could have done better here or there, but we’ve added quality and I believe in the boys.
“I have a spine that have stayed, and you don’t get to the final of the play-offs and the Scottish Cup if you’re not a good team.
“The boys have to realise that as well, and hopefully they do now.”
‘Steely resilience’ needed – Dodds
Inverness failed to make it out of the group stages of the Viaplay Cup.
After beating League Two Bonnyrigg 2-1, they lost by the same scoreline against League Two Dumbarton, 3-2 against Championship newcomers Airdrieonians, then 1-0 at Premiership Dundee on Sunday.
Dodds reckons reaching the Hampden showpiece last season has made Inverness a target for opponents, but he’s urging his men to rise to the challenge.
He said: “We’re a scalp now, and that’s why Dumbarton, Bonnyrigg and Airdrie raised their game against us.
“We’ll be a scalp in the Championship because we reached the cup final, but we wouldn’t have done that if we weren’t a good team.
“We need to have that steely resilience now, and I think we’ve got a dozen of the players who were here last year who can all bring that.”
Homework done on visiting Spiders
Saturday’s visitors Queen’s Park are now managed by Dutchman Robin Veldman after Owen Coyle left following their title push which went to the wire last term.
Only a dramatic closing-night 5-3 defeat to Dundee saw the title head to Tayside, before Partick Thistle proved too strong for Queen’s in the play-offs.
Although they’ve shaken up their squad over the summer, Dodds doesn’t think their style will alter too much.
He added: “Queen’s Park are going to be similar to last season.
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“The type of football they play hasn’t changed much – they like to build from the back, they’ve got good width and plenty of pace, a good bit of experience and young boys like Barry Hepburn.
“They could cause us problems if we’re not at it.
“We are hoping to get at them as well. They are a wee bit different in terms of set-pieces, a couple of things have changed, but that homework has all been done.
“We just want to get off to a good start with three points.”
Lodovica offers ‘different dimension’
The signing of English forward Harry Ludovica on Sunday was the fifth new face at Inverness.
The 24-year-old former Chelmsford City attacker joins ex-Queen’s Park full-back Jake Davidson, St Johnstone midfielder Charlie Gilmour, Celtic striker Adam Brooks and Cove Rangers winger Luis Longstaff.
Lodovica came off the bench at Dens Park and Dodds said he made an instant impression.
He said: “It’s funny, because the first thing Dundee’s management team asked after the game was ‘who’s the big guy?’
“He’s physical, strong, and quick, and he brings a different dimension to the team.
“He’s still a work in progress, so I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but he’s something we haven’t had for a couple of seasons.
“We had to take him off his feet for a couple of days when he first came in on trial, and he came back stronger. It did him the world of good.
“He’s thinking about what he has to do to adjust coming from a lower league, and I think the fans got a glimpse on Sunday of what he can bring, so I’m delighted to have him here.”
Full-back Lewis Nicolson and midfielder Roddy MacGregor face lengthy spells on the sidelines due to knee and ankle injuries, but defender Danny Devine should be back for the weekend’s league opener.
