Ex-Caley Thistle striker Graham Bayne insists successive away games can help the team get their Championship season up and running.
After losing their opening league fixture 2-1 against Queen’s Park on Saturday, Inverness face back-to-back trips to Ayr United and Airdrieonians in their bid to bank early points.
Bayne, who played for ICT in the top-flight between 2004 and 2008, is sure Billy Dodds’ team, which crashed out of the Viaplay Cup at the group stages, can embrace their road trips with confidence.
He said: “Caley Thistle shouldn’t worry too much about having two away games in succession.
“I remember in the Premiership, the club went a full calendar year (in 2010 under Terry Butcher) without losing an away game, which is crazy when you consider the amount of travelling you have to do, often leaving at 8.30am.
“If you play for Inverness, you just deal with it. You just take it on, that’s what your job is and you try to enjoy it. It doesn’t matter where you play.
“Caley Thistle are more than capable of getting results at Ayr and Airdrie, especially with Billy Mckay still scoring goals, which will make a massive difference for them this season.”
Ayr, who lost 3-1 at Morton at the weekend, are their hosts this Saturday. Then, following a weekend off for ICT due to Viaplay Cup action, they head for Airdrie on August 26.
Injuries open door for Bray
Their loss against Queen’s followed cup reversals against Dumbarton, Airdrie and Dundee.
One shining light has been teenage midfielder Keith Bray, who is very much in Dodds’ mind for a start at Ayr following positive displays from the bench, especially with Sean Welsh and Roddy MacGregor on the injured list.
Bayne believes the youngster should embrace the challenge should he get the nod at Somerset Park.
He said: “Caley Thistle’s injuries has such a big effect on them last season. I see they have two or three already and that’ a concern because they don’t carry a big enough squad to cope.
“On the positive side, there’s the lad at 17, Keith Bray, who might just get the opportunity to make some sort of an impact in the Championship.
“Sometimes, you’re forced to put the young lads into action, but it can work out to be a great thing.
“I haven’t yet seen Keith play, but for him to even be spoken about so highly by Billy Dodds speaks volumes for the lad.
“He should take massive confidence from that and he will go into the game with no pressure, just enjoy the game.”
🎥 Highlights of yesterday’s game against Queen’s Park https://t.co/Dy50LARdIK
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 6, 2023
One goal can often make a difference
Individual mistakes have been a common theme for Inverness so far in these early stages of the campaign.
Bayne says the well-matched make-up of the second tier makes for matches with so little margin for error.
He added: “With the Championship being as tight as it is, quite often an individual error can make the difference. You often don’t have the luxury of beating teams by two goals, never mind three or four.
“We’ve seen it already for Inverness. Two weeks ago in the Viaplay Cup, they lost 1-0 at Dundee and on Saturday they’ve lost 2-1 again. Yes, they were 2-0 down, but they gave themselves a chance with the late goal.
“There is never much in it at all.
“There was a point last season where seven teams could still have won the league. For seven teams to still have that chance in a 10-club division is insane.
“Three clubs – Hamilton, Cove Rangers and Arbroath – were battling at the wrong end of the table, but the others pushed for the play-offs until the very end.
“You saw how often it changed, seven on the very last day. One moment, a team was winning the league then they were dropping down a place of two, while others were dropping out of the play-off positions and Inverness ended up missing out.”
