Caley Thistle manager John Robertson accepts his side cannot afford to lose today’s Championship match against Morton in the race for the play-offs.
The fourth-placed Greenock outfit moved eight points clear of Inverness, who have a game in hand, thanks to their 1-0 victory over Dumbarton in midweek.
That result places all the more importance on today’s game, which is subject to a pitch inspection at 8.30am, and Robertson knows his side cannot fall any further behind.
Robertson said: “The matches now are the old proverbial six-pointers.
“It’s double-jeopardy – if you win you are right in there, if you lose you’re further away. We can’t afford to go 11 points behind with a game in hand at this stage.
“Five points behind is fine, eight points behind with a game in hand is not a disaster, but we can’t afford to lose the game.
“We know that, and the players understand that as well. Should we, it’s not insumountable but with games starting to dwindle, every one is vital.
“Morton have just stolen a march on everybody else. They got a last-minute winner against Dunfermline and they have gone and got a late winner against Dumbarton.
“That’s the massive difference right now, turning one point into three. If they didn’t get those two victories, suddenly they would be sitting on 34 points and within touching distance.
“We need to take something, that’s for sure.”
Robertson expects to have Carl Tremarco and Aaron Doran back from injury, and the Caley Jags boss says every player in his squad will have an important role to play, with today’s match leading into a busy period for the Highlanders.
He added: “We’ve got five matches in 14 days and that’s going to be a real test, because our squad is thin. We’ve got one or two niggling injuries, so like we did in December everybody will need to be used. Everybody will need to be ready.
“There’s still 39 points to play for. We need to just keep picking them up.”