Early chance to make amends

Inverness get a quick return to the scene of the crime on Wednesday night as Kilmarnock are the visitors for the SPL midweek game.  The players will be out to atone for the dismal Boxing Day defeat at the hands of St Mirren.  An unimaginative performance from the home team once again frustrated the fans and left Inverness pointless.  Our home record is in stark contrast to our away form and this is causing some concern.  Only Hamilton have won less home games this season than ICT, and they find themselves bottom of the SPL at the moment.  Kilmarnock have shown a dramatic upturn in their fortune since Mixu Paatelainen took over, and are one of the current form teams in the league.

Terry Butcher was extremely downbeat after the match with St Mirren and felt gutted after all the hard work to get the ground prepared for the game ended up in defeat, especially after taking an early lead.  Praise for Esson and the three youngsters Sutherland, Shinnie and Ross could not ease the pain of yet another home flop and I wonder if this will signal some changes to the way we approach our home games.

Kilmarnock head North after a scare over their goalkeeping choices.  With Combe still injured, Bell and Letheren were struggling with a stomach bug, but they seem to be on the mend and will be in the squad.

davie will tell you about this evenings game, and remember it's a 7:45pm Kick Off

Stroke rates are higher in Ayrshire than anywhere else in Scotland*. This is probably due to Kilmarnock FC appointing a series of formidably apoplectic managers, the latest of whom brings his team up the road for a midweek SPL jaunt. Welcome Mixu Paatelianen. This is a team that my spellcheck just doesn’t cope with, but seems to be gelling in a football sense quite nicely. Beware the Finn and his friends. If their Christmas spirit is anything like St. Mirren’s we might get another dose of humbug.

Kilmarnock FC are all right. Lurking in deepest Ayrshire from 1895 onwards they have leathered footballs between the drink factory and Prestwick airport for years. This must make them the closest that Elvis Presley ever got to Scottish football. Possibly Ayr, but I’m not measuring. They also therefore qualify as the club closest to ICT’s best ever away day. 7, still can’t quite believe that one.

Team News

No Hayes. Again. Since going over his ankle in Dingwall, Jonny has missed out and boy have we seen how crucial he is to this ICT team. No instant out ball for the full backs. No fast breaks, no quality crosses (and goals) and no dragging half a petrified defence in his wake. Get well soon Jonny. Ironically, this has come at a time when the rest of the knees and ankles have improved, apart from Kenny Gillet. Chris Innes could be stiffening for the backbone in this one. There may be changes afoot, and guessing a line up for this would be difficult but for the limited options that TB has.

The Opposition

Eremenko, fit and worth a million, in what might be his last game before recall to Kharkov. Connor Sammon on fire (an expression I never thought I would use) After an extended Christmas break because the heating was on the blink, Killie should have no worries at all. For a club prone to penny pinching, internecine squabbling and factionalism as complicated as Balkan politics, they’re happy. Cammy Bell is still never better than Ryan Esson (get yer erse up here Levein for this head to head) but only if Cammy is fit. News has it he’s got the “turkey trots” and his fellow spewing companion Kyle Letheren are major doubts despite the immodium. Winger Forrester is out, having “done a Jonny” in training on these bad plastic pitches. James Dayton will also sit this one out.  The rest of them are, unfortunately, fit.

Form

No win in the last four. Defeat on Sunday, and only two wins at home this season. Kilmarnock sit 3 points behind us. We have the edge in head to heads though; we hold the advantage on previous meetings between the two in Inverness. Of the 10 games played, Caley Thistle have recorded 5 wins, and Kilmarnock have come away with 3 victories. This included one SFA Cup win by 2-0. Generally, plenty goals to be found in these encounters, and ICT lead the scoring stats 22-16. The highest aggregate was an entertaining if disappointing 3-4 victory for Killie in December 2006.  In April 2008 we handed out our biggest defeat to Killie.  A David Lilley og was sandwiched between an opener from Dougie Imrie and a superb Marius Niculae strike into the top corner to make the final score 3-0.  All the signals are that this could be tighter than an Aberdonian’s purse strings. 1-0 please.

*I made this bit up, before you ask.

"Stroke of genius if you ask me davie"