Cammy Harper hopes the fast nature of ever-changing results will mean Caley Thistle return to winning form at Partick Thistle this Saturday.
After the Championship side lost just once in nine games in all competitions after Duncan Ferguson replaced Billy Dodds, they suffered successive 2-1 defeats against Morton and Arbroath within five days last week.
Those setbacks pushed them towards the foot of the table, although they are still just five points below fourth-placed Dunfermline Athletic, such is the tight nature of the division.
Harper – ‘Football is a weird game’
Third-placed Partick Thistle are their hosts in Glasgow this weekend and left-sided player Harper hopes the recent defeats can be swifty fixed with a win at Firhill.
He said: “It will be a tough game – it always is – as Partick Thistle have got a good squad, with good attacking players.
“But we’re obviously looking to go down there and bounce back after a little bit of a disappointing week.
“Results don’t weigh on me a lot. You have to try to forget them, but they are in the back of your mind.
“We know we should have done better through the week, but football can change in an instant. It has already happened a couple of times this season.
“People write you off completely and then, up until these two results, people were talking about us going for the play-offs again.
“Football is a weird game. For as long as I’ve been full-time, I’ve seen it change in a flash.
“A win for us on Saturday would do that.”
Open game at Partick is favoured
Harper, who lined up Billy Mckay for his goal against Arbroath last Saturday, admits Inverness struggle most against opponents “who sit in”.
He therefore wants a more expansive contest to play out against a Thistle team with four wins from their last five fixtures.
The 22-year-old said: “Partick might suit us better.
“They have good players and are good to watch attacking-wise, from a football fans’ perspective.
“They have Steven Lawless on the right, Aidan Fitzpatrick on the left and Brian Graham up top and they interlink well.”
Graham remains a red-hot danger
Ex-Ross County star Brian Graham scored the winner for Partick against Dunfermline last week to take his tally to 12 goals in 22 games.
The 36-year-old has scored six goals against ICT over the past two seasons including a hat-trick in February 2022.
Harper said: “I don’t know what it is about Brian Graham, he always seems to do well against us.
“There have been a couple of times we’ve kept him quiet, including earlier this season, but there have been a couple of times he’s scored.
“He’s got that experience, a bit like Billy Mckay for us up front. They’re completely different types, but Billy in our team, even in training, just always seems to score.
“I don’t know how he manages to do it. I’m sure he has a good few years left in him and he’s one we’ll need to be wary of.”
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‘Assertive’ defending needed at ICT
Ferguson has been frustrated by some cheap goals they have leaked of late, but Harper is confident they can regain that mean streak.
He added: “Everyone saw when the gaffer came in how much more solid we were defensively. Then the attacking side came in the next few games after.
“It is just about having that focus and being 100 per cent assertive in what we’re doing.”
After facing Thistle, ICT will host Morton next Saturday before a trip to Airdrie on Tuesday, January 2.
