Wallace Duffy welcomes the chance to make his 100th Caley Thistle appearance against Raith Rovers tonight – but believes that milestone should have already happened.
The versatile defender moved from St Johnstone to ICT in October 2020 and has often played the waiting game by being a substitute, or being sidelined with injuries.
Right now, he’s enjoying a steady run of starts under manager Duncan Ferguson as Inverness aim to secure their place in the second-tier.
The 25-year-old, who has chipped in with crucial goals in the 1-1 draw at Dundee United and the 2-1 win over Arbroath recently, wants to help sink second-placed Raith to move the team up to seventh spot with just two games to go after tonight.
The attacking right-back, whose natural role is centre-half, will be delighted to pass the 100-mark, even though it’s later than planned.
He said: “It’s pretty exciting, because I probably should have done it a long time ago.
“Since I came up here, I’ve had lots of injuries and inconsistency, so I should have played a lot more than I have.
“It’s just nice to get it in general, I’m happy to reach 100 appearances, so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting there on Friday.”
💪👊 The final push
It's the first of our final three #cinchChamp matches of the season this Friday, as we take on Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium
COME ON ICTFC! 🔴🔵
Ticketing Info: https://t.co/YzSVkAIGsf pic.twitter.com/zDsnePLLZi
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 15, 2024
Consistent run is helping defender
Duffy is getting plaudits for his calm, yet strong defending, as evidenced in last week’s 1-0 win at Queen’s Park, which saw them leapfrog the Spiders into eighth spot by two points.
Duffy feels his displays have been helped by a steady run of action.
He said: “It’s probably one of a couple of good runs I’ve had with games, results and performances.
“When you’re out all the time, you’re just trying to get back up match fitness and sharpness when you come back in, and then you’re more likely to pick up another knock.
“The most important thing in football is consistency, because that’s when you get better.
“I think that’s five or six now I’ve played on the trot, and I’m feeling fit. The numbers are showing that.”
Duffy seeking to net more chances
The former Celtic youth player enjoyed hitting the net in recent matches, but feels he should be closing in on double-digits.
He said with a smile: “Honestly, this season I could have had about eight. I’ve missed so many sitters.
“Even in my whole time at Caley Thistle, I’ve missed so many opportunities, I keep wondering when it’s going to fall for me.
“Scoring at Dundee United was a boost, because I hadn’t scored yet this season, and playing as a wing-back I’m in the box a lot more for chances and I just have to take one.”
Staying ahead of Queen’s is the target
Chasers Queen’s Park go to mid-table Dunfermline on Saturday, while relegated Arbroath welcome seventh-placed Morton to Gayfield.
Duffy believes ICT have enough quality to at least stay above the Glasgow club, with games against Dunfermline and Morton to come.
He added: “We are two points ahead of Queen’s Park now, so it’s them that have to try and catch us rather than us climbing up.
“We’ve got to keep picking up results and better theirs, and hopefully they drop points.
“They have a few tricky games coming up, so it’s not easy for them – it’s not easy for any team in the league to pick up points.
“We are confident that we can stay out of the bottom two.”
Duffy backs Inverness to beat Rovers
Inverness have only lost seven from 41 fixtures against Friday’s opponents Raith, who need at least a point to all but keep champions-elect Dundee United’s champagne on ice.
They have lost twice this season to the Fifers, but won 3-2 in Kirkcaldy thanks to Alex Samuel’s stunning nine-minute hat-trick in January.
Duffy reckons, if ICT play to their potential, they can secure what would be their third successive victory at the best possible time.
He said: “We don’t have a bad record against Raith.
“We have lost twice to them this season, but we conceded three goals (overall) in the last five minutes to lose those games and we’ve beaten them already this season too.
“We are confident going in. We’re not worried about where they are in the league, if they’re in a title race or what they’re thinking.
“We just focus on ourselves, because we know that if we play our stuff, we are more than good enough to beat them.”