Caley Thistle boss Billy Dodds will weigh up the risk of injuries ahead of Saturday’s SPFL Trust Trophy tie at Arbroath.
Between the Viaplay Cup and the Championship, Inverness have gone seven successive matches without a win and are bottom of the league following the weekend’s 1-1 home draw against Dunfermline Athletic.
However, their first point of the season earned against the Pars did stop a run of six straight defeats as they sit two points behind Morton and Ayr United.
Saturday will bring a change of competition, with a game against Dick Campbell’s side in the SPFL Trust Trophy, formerly the Challenge Cup.
Arbroath beat Ayr United 2-1 at the weekend to move up to the Championship mid-table and Dodds knows this third-round tussle at Gayfield will be a test.
The 2-1 win against Bonnyrigg Rose in their opening group tie in the Viaplay Cup in mid-July is ICT’s only victory of the campaign so far and Dodds wants his men to get another win to lift the heads before going to Raith Rovers in the league on September 16.
However, he will balance commitments at Arbroath with ensuring his strongest team can line-up for that Championship outing, saying: “We need to make sure we start getting the winning mentality.
“We need to try and win the game to give ourselves and our fans a lift.
“At the same time, I can’t risk taking chances of players getting injured. We don’t have a huge squad.
“It will be a strong team, hopefully one good enough to go there and get a result.”
New signings will lift ICT – Dodds
Against Dunfermline on Saturday, Nathan Shaw’s early goal gave ICT the lead in a match for the first time since their League Cup win over League Two Bonnyrigg.
Defender Chris Hamilton’s header with 10 minutes left earned the Fifers a deserved draw.
🔴🔵 Nathan Shaw's goal yesterday to open the scoring!
Highlights of yesterday's 1-1 draw against Dunfermline are available online now👉 https://t.co/4Da5gJRYpo pic.twitter.com/DAtQJJqf1y
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) September 3, 2023
There were strong debuts for Caley Thistle’s latest signings, defender Morgan Boyes and midfielder Max Anderson, who have come in on loan from Premiership sides Livingston and Dundee.
Australian centre-half Nikola Ujdur, who has a Croatian passport, signed a two-year deal from Rockdale Ilinden on Friday and will arrive in the Highlands this week.
Dodds is satisfied with his new recruits and hopes the team gets stronger, reducing the mistakes which have hampered them so far.
He said: “I’m happy with the boys we’ve taken in and Nikola is a good player, as you will soon see.
“We need to be better in some areas.
“Caley Thistle fans are frustrated right now, as I am. I totally understand it.
“They are frustrated because they’re seeing things on the pitch which haven’t gone right. We’ve given away poor goals, and I can’t keep accepting that as a manager.”
The Inverness manager, who felt the draw against Dunfermline was a decent starting point, believes his side are making progress, but urged his men to dig a little deeper for another victory.
He added: “I am seeing a difference, but it’s small steps and I wanted to see bigger steps on Saturday.
“Winning the game would have given everyone a huge lift. We dropped another two points and we will take it on the chin.
“We deserved something from the game.
“I’d have loved to have won it. That’s the way it’s going for us.
“I have been in football a long time. When it’s like that, we’ve got to dig, scratch, bite, battle to turn it around and give us the edge. That’s what we’re lacking.
“We’ve lost confidence because of the goals we’ve given away.
“We’ve got to get that confidence back by doing the right things.”
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