Leaderboard

Oh Well! Managerless Motherwell make the journey to Inverness this Saturday with caretaker boss Kenny Black still at the helm since the departure of the popular Stuart McCall. That's not the only issues at Fir Park as the club's owner John Boyle has placed his 70% shareholding in trust in the hope that the Well Society can raise the necessary funds to buy them, although other interested parties are monitoring the situation. Off-field concerns may be clouding the on-field problems, but Motherwell generally perform well up here and an entertaining encounter is anticipated. It's been a mixed international break for Scotland with an important win over Ireland in the Euro Qualifying campaign offset by a lesson from an impressive England in a 'friendly'. Ryan Christie also came on as a substitute in the u21 international draw away to Switzerland, but it's time to turn our attention back to the domestic scene for the visit of Motherwell. The Steelmen have had a horrendous season by their own recent standards, winning only three of their first thirteen games with one drawn, but that was against Celtic. They ended a run of five straight defeats by beating Dundee United in their last game, an Iain Vigurs goal deciding who won the points. That victory was too late for McCall who had resigned on the 2nd of November after that losing streak. Kenny Black will be the man in charge and he has done his CV no harm with that win over the Arabs as he looks to steer the Well away from the bottom end of the table. Our last game before the break saw us jump above Hamilton after a well deserved 4-2 win over the Accies. It was an important win for a number of reasons. Billy McKay learned how to score again, James Vincent notched one and we went top of the league for a few hours. We still managed to concede a couple of preventable goals, but our goals for was the best so far this term. There has however been some concern in the camp as the outstanding Graeme Shinnie does not wish to sign a new contract, according to his agent Clive Hart, and that has upset the apple cart. John Hughes was less than pleased after the revelation and Shinnie's agent has been blamed for stirring the pot citing "unprofessional and disrespectful" conduct towards Inverness Caledonian Thistle. It's fair to say that Shinnie will more than likely be playing elsewhere next season with a number of clubs interested in the 23 year old, Aberdeen and Rangers allegedly amongst the domestic clubs keeping an eye on the situation. Shinnie signed for Inverness in 2009 and is currently captaining the side in the absence of Richie Foran. Carl Tremarco will be pushing for another start, and if he does, then I would expect Shinnie to play his part further up the park in left midfield. Aaron Doran played in midweek in the development league when a Callum Ferguson goal saw Inverness beat Dundee United. It's fair to say he (Doran), along with Nick Ross and Danny Devine will start on the bench as Marley Watkins continues to impress. James Vincent scored and looks to be getting back into the groove and the goal will be an added boost for the much injured James. All in all, similar line-up to last outing is on the cards. Happy days! Who's throwing a sickie this week Inverness captain Richie Foran seems to have been out forever and will miss out again. No fresh concerns for Inverness, although Ross Draper has a one match ban to serve. Ryan Christie returned from Switzerland unscathed after coming on as a sub in the u21 international. Motherwell have loaned defender Adam Cummins to Ayr for a month. Steven Hammell requires a minor operation to resolve his groin problem. Likewise Jack Leitch has undergone surgery on his cruciate ligament and will be out until Spring. Craig Moore has recently recovered from similar surgery, but is unwell. Former County man Paul Lawson, Bob McHugh and Stuart Carswell all picked up knocks in recent Development matches and won’t travel this weekend. tm4tj prediction:- Looking at the table you could be forgiven for imagining that this could be anything other than a comfortable home win. I don't buy into this though. Motherwell are not that far removed, personnel wise, from the side that performed so well last season. Yes they have had a disastrous start to the season but the tide has possibly turned with last weeks battling win over United. Iain Vigurs has always been a threat to Inverness. The fans love to hate him, and he seems to accept the challenge and usually comes up with something to shut us up. Billy McKay got back on track last week with a couple of poachers goals, but his all round play was mighty impressive. With Draper out, that opens the door for Tremarco at full back with Shinnie in midfield. Hughes has other options though, and a keen bench champing at the bit. Four goals against Hamilton has whet the appetite, let's hope the international intermission has not put us off our food. I'll go for a narrow home win.