Peterhead defender Jason Brown believes the Blue Toon have nothing to fear when they take on his former side Caley Thistle this afternoon.
The Balmoor men make the trip to the Caledonian Stadium to face John Robertson’s Inverness, who have made a stuttering start to life in the Championship following relegation from the top flight.
Brown has made an impressive start with Jim McInally’s team after making the move from Inverness to Peterhead in the summer. The defender, who has two goals in 14 appearances this season, is relishing his return to his old stomping ground for this weekend’s third-round tie in the IRN-BRU Cup.
He said: “It will be a bit of a weird feeling to go back there so soon after leaving but I can’t wait.
“We have a lot of quality in our squad and we believe in ourselves, so we know if we play well we can cause them a lot of problems. That is what we will look to do this weekend.
“It will suit us that we are going into the match as underdogs. We will be able to play with a freedom and under no pressure. The onus will be on them to take the game to us.”
Brown, 21, says Peterhead are out to make amends after a surprise 2-0 home defeat by Berwick Rangers last weekend.
The Blue Toon, title favourites for League 2 at the start of the season, are fourth in the table – already six points adrift of pacesetters Stirling Albion.
Brown added: “Last weekend was really frustrating.
“We had a lot of possession but we conceded two really cheap goals which is something you just can’t afford to do.
“If we defend like that against Caley Thistle then it will be very difficult to win.
“I am positive we will defend a lot better than we did last Saturday. The league is our priority but it is nice to have a couple of cup games coming up with Colville Park coming to Balmoor in the Scottish Cup next weekend.
“The cup games are a bonus but we want to win every game, starting this Saturday at Inverness.”
McInally feels his team heads into the match under minimal pressure. He said: “It is a game no one expects us to win. We need to try to take advantage of that. Caley Thistle will see it as a chance to turn their season around and get some confidence.
“To do well in these competitions you need to have a big result somewhere along the way.
“We had that when Rory McAllister scored five at Falkirk in the competition a couple of years ago.
“If we are to win we will need someone like Rory or Willie Gibson to step up and produce a big performance.”