Inverness need to show their mettle as Steelmen come North

A disastrous run of form has seen Inverness drop out of the top six after the midweek games. One win in fourteen games seems to have disheartened the players, and the fans can sense the tension within the squad.  It's a catch 22 situation, poor performances mean poor results, poor results mean few points, few points mean unhappy fans, unhappy fans mean unhappy players, unhappy players mean poor performances............. and so it goes on.

In midweek, another home game and another defeat has surely set alarm bells ringing at the Caledonian Stadium.  Sure, relegation seems unlikely, but unless things improve dramatically, then top six looks like a lost cause.  Us fans of course are fickle folk, and have short and selective memories at times.  However, it seems like a long time ago that we were on a fantastic unbeaten run away from home.  We were riding along on the crest of a wave, even contemplating European football.  Right now we can't buy a win, although St Johnstone did eventually surrender a couple of weeks ago. 

What has gone wrong?  Is it just injuries, or injuries to specific players, or have we been found out, maybe lacking that extra quality to stay in the top six?  Is the management team selecting the right players?  Are our tactics right?  Other than injuries and suspensions, not a lot should have changed from that winning feeling we had earlier in the season, so where do we go from here?

For me, injuries to key players, combined with defensive punishments are major factors in our demise.  Jonny Hayes Dani Sanchez Kevin McCann and Kenny Gillet/Graeme Shinnie left us struggling for adequate cover along with Munro and Tokely being suspended recently.  That has meant a reshuffle of the pack at the back and with the introduction of the new boys, then our strongest link is in total disarray at the moment.  There is of course another mystery to be resolved.  Russell Duncan is not guaranteed a start, but surely his drive and passion would be more welcome than some of the tame excuses offered in his place.  Adam Rooney has not exactly been bulging the nets recently, and a couple of 'taxi for Rooney' misses must have dented his confidence a little.  Youngsters in the squad are being asked to fill the boots of men, and some are not ready for that, although they give their best, but it's not always enough.  Let's hope Terry and Mo get to the root of the problem sooner rather than later, as the fans, especially the home ones are getting a tad restless with the performances of late.  Defeat is one thing, defeat in the manner we have become accustomed to is a different kettle of fish altogether.

Motherwell are here on Saturday and they must be hoping our poor run continues.  They come north on the back of a tremendous result last weekend when the beat the Hoops 2-0.  That result, albeit fantastic for Well, dented our top six aspirations and we compounded that by losing at Hibs and at home to United.  All is not lost yet, Motherwell are only four points ahead of us, but unless we have a magic potion, then it looks to be a difficult task for Butcher to lift his beleaguered troops for another stressful home fixture.  I don't know about the players, but the fans are now starting to dread these fixtures. (Hold on, I think I am watching paint dry this Saturday, or, my hair's wet, or, I'm shopping at Tesco's).  All valid reasons to not turn up I suppose, but we are all gluttons for punishment as well, so I'll be there.

Ginger Jaggy will talk you through this weekends fixture, and hopefully report on a positive result.

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Well hasn't 2011 been a big disappointment so far. After all the jubilation and plaudits that Caley Thistle has received over a fantastic 2010 we have failed, to even come close, to hitting the heights we did. One win in fourteen is not good enough and after looking pretty comfortable to finish in our highest ever position we now face an uphill task to get there. Our opponents on Saturday are Motherwell who, although 4 points clear, still can be caught by us but a victory on Saturday is essential. The performances in our last two matches have led us to believe that finally the top six is over as an ambition. But it isn't over, five games to go including a massive cup quarter final vs Celtic the week after and the season is still well and truly alive. If we can win this one then we still have a chance but performances must improve dramatically if we are to go on a mini run of form until the split.

A bit on Our opponents

Motherwell has been erratic since Stuart McCall took charge of the Lanarkshire club around New Year. This last week has summed up their form with a 1-0 defeat to St Mirren last Wednesday at Fir Park, only for them to beat Celtic at Home on Sunday. But the upshot is that Motherwell lie 5^th in the table 4 points above us in 7^th.  They still play excellent football under McCall and try to get the ball down and pass like we should have done in our last two games.  Nick Blackman didn't return on loan, he followed Manager Craig Brown up to Aberdeen, however Motherwell still have dangerous players that can win them matches. Since Blackman departed it has been John Sutton filling in with the goals with 11 from this season so far. Other dangerous players I consider to see as a great threat, especially with a slow backline like ours, is the pace of Jamie Murphy and Chris Humphrey. They can also chip in with some important goals as well, helping to close the massive gap Blackman left behind. But the threat is there and performances like the win over Celtic shows that this will be a tough test (especially given our current form)  and that Motherwell could be the biggest game now at this stage of the season.

Form Guide

This part is hardest to write. The players gave us a ray of hope when they picked up 4 points from 2 matches against St Mirren and St Johnstone. But that was just a red herring as we have lost our last two matches 2-0, each game producing a woeful performance. In fact Inverness' run of form is actually relegation form and nowhere near what we need to get us into the top half of the league. Teams like Hibs and Aberdeen who were both so far behind are now rocketing up the table and both now have realistic chances of finishing above us. As for Motherwell they haven't been spectacular but have picked up victories and have stayed in one of the top six spots. The most unexpected result was there 2-0 victory over Celtic at the weekend but of course they also lost at home to St Mirren last week so they are inconsistent. They have though picked up a fairly decent 9 points from there last 15 which is the sort of form we would need to finish in the top six. So the upshot is a good side but not invincible.

Head to head in Inverness, (SPL) Motherwell have a massive advantage over ICT.  Eight wins for Motherwell, with only two for the hosts and a solitary game drawn.  Well also have the best result, a 0-3 scoreline in November 2007, and they lead the scoring by 9-14.  The visitors have won the last four SPL games in the Highlands outscoring the homeside 6-9 during those games.  Our away record is much better in this head to heads, however, this is a home game, so the omens are not great then.

GingerJaggies thoughts

Huge game no doubt about it, huge week in fact. This week will make or break our season starting with this game. If we have any chance to stay with the elite then this game on Saturday has to go our way. Two defeats in our next two games and our season could be well and truly over. I really can't say how this one will go. I would like to say that we will come out and play well and win but we were told that would happen on Tuesday and it didn't. Hopefully the players will perform and why shouldn't they, the pressure is off us. We are unlikely to get into the top six now so the players just have to go and give there all. A win and we still have a chance but defeat and it is all over with the fixtures to come. So hear is me giving one last bit of encouragement to get behind the players on Saturday and hopefully we can turn it around give ourselves a fighting chance.

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***Latest Team News***

Aaron Doran looks likely to miss out with a hip injury, but Jonny Hayes showed no adverse reaction after his return in midweek, although he lacks match sharpness.  Proctor, Shinnie, Gillet McBain and Sanchez are all missing.  Terry Butcher had his squad in for extra training this week after a dismal display against United.  A forty five minute discussion session was held with the players airing their views on what is going wrong and the managers taking on board the suggestions.

For Motherwell, Steve Jones will sit this one out, but Stephen Craigan will return after suspension and Steven Saunders is pushing for a start.  Consistency is Motherwell's problem, and they realise it's no use beating Celtic then struggling against teams in the bottom half of the league, so they will be out to consolidate their position and will be a difficult side to get the better of.

tm4tj Prediction:- It's not looking good for us at the moment, but that's what supporting Caley Thistle is all about, a massive roller coaster of a ride.  On paper we would appear to be on a hiding this weekend and Motherwell must be clear favourites to win.  But, we are at our best when given the underdogs tag, it sits much better than the expectation of winning three points and maybe, just maybe we can poach something from this one.

1-0 for the Jags..................maybe.