Everton midfielder Sean McAllister is thrilled to get the chance to work under Toffees legend Duncan Ferguson at Caley Thistle for the next four months.
And the livewire loanee, 21, hopes to answer the Inverness manager’s call for creativity and goals.
A goal was all ICT lacked at the weekend as a decent display ended in a 1-0 home Championship loss to Queen’s Park.
The defeat against Callum Davidson’s side leaves the Highlanders just six points above bottom-placed Arbroath and eight behind fourth-placed Morton.
The build-up is now on for Saturday’s last-16 Scottish Cup tie against Premiership Hibs.
Great chance to work under legend
McAllister, who came off the bench against the Spiders for his debut, wants to impress as he embarks on senior competitive football for the first time.
He said of ex-Everton striker and caretaker boss Ferguson: “The gaffer is an Everton legend and the chance to play under him is great.
“When I first came to Everton, he was the assistant and seen him around and it will be a pleasure to work under him.
“He says he wants to see me work my socks off and to create chances and score goals from games.”
When asked what Inverness supporters can expect from the Northern Ireland under-21 cap, he said: “I will bring energy, create chances and score goals.
“I enjoyed coming on in the second half. We dominated the game, but we couldn’t find the final pass and were missing the quality at the end.”
Ferguson picks his Caley Thistle players up for cup
Dunfermline Athletic, who were thumped 5-0 by Morton on Saturday, take on Queen’s Park in a rearranged league game on Saturday, with these sides tucked just below ICT in the table.
Inverness will play their third successive home game a week on Saturday when Partick Thistle visit the Caledonian Stadium.
Hibs head north this weekend on the back of a 3-0 home loss against St Mirren, which pushed them out of the top six in the Premiership.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝
We showed real quality and composure and thoroughly deserved to win. #OurStMirren #COYS pic.twitter.com/Ab401VOdQs
— St Mirren FC (@saintmirrenfc) February 4, 2024
With ICT winning just two from 11 league games at home this season, Ferguson said: “Maybe it would have been better at Easter Road – but no, we will go again and pick ourselves up.
“We were by far the better team against Queen’s Park, but it just didn’t break for us.
“It takes a wee bit of time for the new players to settle in. It’s not easy for them to come in and hit the ground running.”
Conversation