Mark Ridgers insists Caley Thistle must respond when game-plans are not working as he admits eighth spot in the Championship is now their realistic aim.
Saturday’s sore 2-1 home defeat against Ayr United saw Scott Brown’s Honest Men move four points clear of ninth-placed ICT.
That is the same margin Dunfermline Athletic have over the Highlanders after their surprise 3-1 Friday night victory over leaders Dundee United.
Queen’s Park are two points in front of ICT, who are eight points ahead of basement strugglers Arbroath.
Inverness, who have gone nine successive home league fixtures without a win over the past four months, travel to Dundee United this Saturday, seven days before they go to third-placed Partick Thistle.
With time running out and trailing 2-1 against Ayr, ICT manager Duncan Ferguson pitched creative midfielder Aaron Doran and forward Aribim Pepple into play to help create a spark, but they could not find a second equaliser.
Finishing outside bottom two is aim
Experienced goalkeeper Ridgers, whose 88 shut-outs in 269 games is a club record, believes the players must stand up and be counted when their opponents have their noses in front.
He said: “The manager has a style, and we are trying that to a point, but when it is not working for us, we have to switch it up a bit.
“We need to take responsibility on the field and Saturday was one of those days when we never. Overall, we were poor, and we didn’t do much.
“Ayr didn’t have a lot of chances, but we didn’t create enough either. Especially at home, that has been the biggest problem.
“We try to be positive by looking at the table, but now it is all about finishing outside the bottom two.
“Results like that, when you are losing to teams who are around you, losing to Queen’s Park, losing to Arbroath, now lost to Ayr, has shot us in the foot, and we have big games coming up.”
Avoid relegation play-offs – Ridgers
Fourth-placed side Airdrie are eight points ahead of Inverness with a game in hand, with only seven ICT matches to go.
Promotion hopes are all but over for this season and 33-year-old Ridgers, who had three successive clean sheets before the weekend, insists locking horns with League One opponents in the relegation play-offs must be avoided at all costs.
He said: “You don’t want to finish in the ninth position as there will be four hard games (against teams) below us.
“The play-offs with League One are different to the play-offs when you are trying to get promoted. We need to be aware of that.
“We had been picking up points, but realistically we need to win games and pick up as many points as we can until the end of the season.
“Every point is massive with the table the way it is. We are not where we want to be, and we have let ourselves down at home.
“Taking eighth is something we must look at as it has been a long and frustrating season.”
Runaway League One side Falkirk can clinch the title this weekend and are clearly Championship-bound, while Hamilton, Alloa Athletic, Montrose and Cove Rangers are scrapping it out for the three play-off spots.
Duncan Ferguson targets three Caley Thistle wins after defeat to Ayr United
