Boss Duncan Ferguson is proud of his battling Caley Thistle players for lifting their injury-hit club out of the Championship drop-zone.
Saturday’s crucial 1-0 win at Queen’s Park saw ICT trade places with their beaten opponents and move two points clear of them in eighth place with three games left.
A hamstring injury kept on-loan Wigan centre-half James Carragher out of action, while fellow defender Remi Savage was ruled out with concussion.
January signings, defender Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen and midfielder Sean McAllister have returned to Leeds United and Everton because of respective back and thigh injuries.
And winger Nathan Shaw and playmaker Charlie Gilmour won’t feature again this term due to hamstring and knee injuries.
Six Caley Thistle starters out of action due to injury
However, Ferguson reshaped his side for their crunch clash against the Spiders and he was thrilled by the outcome and performance, despite having fewer options.
He said: “I have lost three centre backs (Carragher, Chilokoa-Mullen and Savage).
“I shuffled the team by putting Cammy Kerr out to right wing-back and I put Danny Devine in (to central defence), while Aaron Doran came in (to midfield) for the first time in a while.
“The injuries we’ve had this year have been horrendous. People don’t want to know about that – people only care about the points.
“As well as the centre-backs, we’ve lost Sean McAllister, Nathan Shaw and Charlie Gilmour. That’s six starters not in my team.
“We have had a lot of terrible injuries, but the (other) boys have helped us hit a good bit of form. I am proud of them all.
“Players are showing their versatility, and their togetherness. They are great boys to work with. We’re playing well and are on the up.”
Confidence high after successive wins
All eyes are on Friday night’s home encounter with second-placed Raith Rovers, who have fallen out of the title race.
Now trailing Dundee United by six points, a defeat for the Fifers would effectively hand United the Championship crown due to their far superior goal difference.
Ferguson was over the moon when Cammy Harper’s wonderful first half free-kick flashed into the net to seal the win against Callum Davidson’s Queen’s at Hampden.
Now his attention is fixed firmly on trying to make it three wins on the spin, having just managed two successive league victories for the first time this term.
He added: “At this stage of the season, it’s all about points, but I thought we played well again on Saturday as we really have been over the past four or five games.
“We were dominant against Queen’s Park and could have been a couple of goals up at half-time.
“The boys were excellent and dug in when we had to in the second half. It was another great away victory.
“We were worthy winners, and it was good to get two back-to-back (league) wins for the first time this season.
“When you’re winning, it’s a good feeling and it raises confidence. Hopefully we can make it three in a row by beating Raith Rovers on Friday.
“Our outstanding away form is far better than our home form, but we did beat Arbroath at home last time. If we can win again at home on Friday, it would be another step towards staying in the division.
“We are now two points ahead of Queen’s Park with a far superior goal difference. We’re showing good form at the right time.”
Caley Thistle have more rivals within range
ICT will round off their tough campaign with matches away to mid-table Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday, April 27, followed by the visit of Morton on Friday, May 3.
The Greenock team’s recent dip in form sees them now sit seventh, just three points clear of Inverness.
Morton travel to relegated Arbroath this Saturday, while Queen’s Park head to Dunfermline.
A win over Raith on Friday would take Inverness above Morton on goal difference and push them five points ahead of Queen’s going into the weekend, heaping pressure on their rivals to make their games count.
They would also be only one point behind Dunfermline and Ayr, albeit having played one game more than both.
