Adam Brooks hopes his Scottish Cup double from the bench is a fresh reminder of what he can do for Caley Thistle.
The former Celtic reserve striker, who joined Inverness last summer when Billy Dodds was the boss, has found game-time hard to come by.
With David Wotherspoon brought in on a short-term deal in October, the ex-St Johnstone attacker was the favoured partner up top with main striker, Billy Mckay.
Wotherspoon opted not to sign a fresh deal with ICT this month and moved on to Dundee United, the Championship leaders.
ICT manager Duncan Ferguson, who signed Alex Samuel on loan from Ross County on Friday, pitched Brooks in after 57 minutes of Saturday’s 4-0 Scottish Cup victory against Lowland League Broomhill.
And 19-year-old Brooks, who has only made four starts this season, delivered a deadly double.
His first, which came after Samuel made it 2-0, was a superb swerving shot, and his second goal was deft back-flick to round off the scoring.
87' | 4-0
GOALLLLLL! IT'S ANOTHER FOR ADAM BROOKS WITH A BACKHEEL! pic.twitter.com/pxFifGILlU
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) January 20, 2024
‘What you do on the park matters’
That takes his tally to four goals and he’s eager to be given the chance to shine away to Raith Rovers in the Championship on Saturday.
He said: “There was nothing more I could ask for to come on and score and I am happy that I was able to come on and show that I could do that.
“I have been working hard in training and hopefully I will get some chances to score some more.
“You work hard behind closed doors, but it is what you do on the park that matters. I done that on Saturday and hopefully it will result in more first-team starts.”
‘No bad blood’ within social squad
Brooks, who stays with fellow ICT forward Austin Samuels, said he has “loved every minute” of his time since making the big switch to the Highlands last year.
And the unity within the squad is a big bonus for the highly-rated forward, who scored 13 goals in 19 Lowland League games for Celtic’s B team last season.
He said: “It is a great group of lads. We are all social and pals and there is no bad blood, and it is always good in the squad.”
Caley Jags chasing result at Kirkcaldy
Inverness return to Championship action with their trip to second-placed Raith this Saturday.
Duncan Ferguson’s Highlanders have won just one of their last seven league matches and are placed seventh in the table, six points behind fourth-placed Airdrie, who have played one game fewer than ICT.
Raith, who lost 2-1 at Premiership Livingston in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, have been beaten in their last two leagues games, against Airdrie and Queen’s Park.
They now trail leaders Dundee United on goal difference and the Tangerines have a match in hand.
