Duncan Ferguson praised his patched-up Caley Thistle side for putting another Championship point on the board with a 0-0 draw against Dunfermline.
A missed spot-kick by Billy Mckay in the first half was the key moment as, try as they might, neither side could find a way through.
It leaves ICT ninth in the table, seven points in front of Arbroath, and two points away from the Pars, who dropped to eighth.
Ferguson’s team are now 10 points away from the top four, a place occupied by Morton, who drew at Raith Rovers.
Clean sheet was plus point – boss
Ferguson was largely positive after seeing his players battle to the end, despite not netting the win.
He said: “I was actually pleased. I was disappointed not to score, but pleased with the clean sheet because we’re down to the bare bones now.
“We’ve got a lot of injuries. There were a lot of boys playing out of position.
“We asked Wallace Duffy to come in and he hadn’t trained for four weeks.
“In the end we never created too many chances, although Danny Devine had three headers, none on target.
“The big moment was the penalty in a game of few chances.
“They went round our goalie and Danny was magnificent, clearing it off the line.
“I’m made up with the clean sheet – it’s a point. Of course, we want to be winning at home and haven’t win here for a long time, but we never got beat.”
‘Boys putting everything into’ games
ICT have now not won a league game at the Caledonian Stadium since November 11.
Ferguson seemed upset with some boos from the crowd at full-time, but said: “I think that’s just normal, isn’t it. We’ve not won at home for a long time.
“It’s understandable, but the players put absolutely everything into the match and we had just four outfield subs.
“Cammy Kerr played centre midfield and was fantastic.
“The boys are putting everything into it and we need the fans with us all the way.
“It’s going to be a long, hard road. Results have gone against us tonight but we can’t worry about that.
“We’re undefeated in three so we are picking up points.
“Unfortunately Nathan Shaw looks like he has picked up a tight hamstring and he is a key player for us. We really are light in numbers.”
Draw was fair outcome for McPake
Dunfermline manager James McPake said: “On the balance of chances, taking away the penalty, it was a fair result.
“There wasn’t a lot happening in the game. We looked solid enough and they defended their box pretty well.
“Alex Jakubiak had one cleared off the line after a good bit of play and a good chance. Danny Devine does really well to clear it off the line.
“Apart from those, there was nothing really clear-cut. It was two teams battling in tough conditions. It’s another point and we’re delighted to keep the clean sheet and we looked solid again.”
This weekend, ICT are away to Morton, who have shot from bottom place around Christmas to fourth in the table, putting themselves firmly in the promotion mix.
Their 0-0 draw at title-chasing Raith Rovers takes their unbeaten run to 16 matches.
