Manager Duncan Ferguson wants passing football to be the key to success for Caley Thistle in this season’s Championship.
Ahead of Saturday’s home showdown against mid-table Ayr United, his ninth-placed team are focused on making it five games unbeaten since the ex-Everton star took charge.
Inverness drew plenty of plaudits for their performance in last week’s impressive 1-1 draw at leaders Dundee United.
Nathan Shaw’s second half goal stemmed from a fine attacking move from defence before Kevin Holt levelled for United soon after.
‘Find a pass and play football’ – boss
Ferguson appreciates it can’t always be easy on the eye, but ideally he wants his players to be brave and confident on the ball in a bid to outclass opponents.
He said: “As a player, I was physical, but we just want to win games of football.
“You can see our style of play now and it was nice for Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin commented on how well we defended, which of course we were going to do.
“When you’re off the ball, you defend.
🔜 Tickets are now available for Saturday's cinch Championship match against @AyrUnitedFC at the Caledonian Stadium
With Saturday's mach taking place on Remembrance Day, we’re pleased to offer a FREE Adult and Child ticket to current and former military personnel
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— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) November 6, 2023
“We built from the back, with a lot of passes. It was a fantastic goal finished by Nathan Shaw. That is the way I want to play, although it doesn’t (always) need to be a counter-attack.
“If we have teams pushed in and we have the rhythm of the game, we will look to break teams down.
“Dundee United are a very good team. We hit them on the counter-attack and showed our passing sequences. We worked on that.
“Instead of smashing the ball away, and there is a time and place for that, you find a pass and you play football.
“That’s what we will do, although there is a time where you need to clear your lines. Our best way forward at this moment is a technical passing game.”
Pulling clear of ninth is first priority
The four-match unbeaten run has fans hoping that a potential play-off push could be on the cards.
A win against Ayr will slice the gap between the sides to just two points.
However, Ferguson insists his team are at the very early stages of recovery before they can start thinking of a top-four charge.
He said: “I have seen enough from us to show we can win games of football.
“Let’s see where that takes us. We’ve had four games, but we’re still ninth.
We're proud to be working again with @MatchWornShirt as selected match worn shirts from this Saturday's game against @AyrUnitedFC will be auctioned in support of @poppyscotland
The auction will go live along this Saturday at kick-off and will run until Sunday 19th November at… pic.twitter.com/iyWbaBM8la
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) November 8, 2023
“Everyone else is winning games and showing they are also strong.
“When I came in, the team had just one draw in 10 matches, and everyone was talking about relegation.
“First thing for me was to take us off the bottom of the division. We’re still in the bottom two, so we have only started.
“The job has a long way to go. For me, as long as we’re in the division next year, that’s one thing ticked off.
“Of course, if we keep on winning, we can see where it takes us. It is close.
“If we lose on Saturday, we’re cut adrift. It’s tough if we lose games now.
“If we lose games in four or five weeks, we could be up there (in the table).
“We cannot afford to lose at the moment because we’re ninth. We’re playing catch-up all the time.”
Ridgers praised ahead of 250th game
Inverness goalkeeper Mark Ridgers is poised to make his 250th appearance for the club against Ayr, with his 84 clean sheets being a record at ICT.
Two top-drawer saves against Dundee United helped achieve last week’s result and Ferguson says he’s already shown him his worth.
He added: “Mark’s a really good goalkeeper, who has been a great servant to the club.
“Saving chances is his job, but he did it really well. He’s made a number of crucial saves in a number of games.
“I remember he made a great save in our 3-2 win against Arbroath (in Ferguson’s first match in charge) and that was important.”
📺 TV Selection
Our home game against Dundee United has been selected for live coverage by BBC Scotland and will now take place on Friday January 12, 7.45pm kick-off. pic.twitter.com/K9Qbcfxzv3
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) November 9, 2023
