tm4tj

High Flying v Flying High High flying Caley Jags take on this seasons surprise package Kilmarnock on Saturday with kick off back to normal time at 3:00pm. Inverness had a splendid win over Celtic last weekend courtesy of an own goal and Kilmarnock took the honours after a 2-0 victory over Motherwell. Allan Johnston has been waxing lyrical since that performance and the quality of the strikes from the powerful Robbie Muirhead and Sammy Clingan. Muirhead's strike was a belter and their shoot on site policy saw Dan Twardzik pull off a string of saves from distance, with former Don Josh MaGennis in particular making the keeper earn his corn. Killie were also in action in a midweek Ayrshire derby in the League Cup where they ousted the Honest Men with a solitary strike from Rory Mackenzie. They always held the upper hand against League One side Ayr United but derbies can be fiercely contested although Killie showed the better quality to get themselves into the third round where they have a home tie against St Johnstone. Incidentally, Inverness face The Rangers in a second round tie after the Ibrox side defeated Queens Park by the odd goal in three. Should Inverness prevail, then another away game at Falkirk awaits. Meanwhile, back in the Premiership, Killie make their second trip North of the campaign. Their last trek saw them beat Ross County in Dingwall by 1-2, Magennis and Obadeyi the scorers before County got their consolation. Killie's only defeat was at home against Aberdeen where they lost 0-2 the week after an opening day draw with newly promoted Dundee. We, of course, are undefeated and sit on top of the League, three points ahead of Kilmarnock. Like them, we also drew with Dundee and beat Motherwell by the same scoreline, so there are similarities in our seasons so far. Kilmarnock have added shrewdly to their squad after a dismal 2013/14 season. The major signings have been Josh Magennis (Aberdeen), Jamie Hamill (Hearts), Michael Ngoo the former Hearts loanee and Lee Miller, the former Scotland international and ex-Falkirk, Hearts, United and Aberdeen striker. Miller was released by Carlisle United after their relegation, and Johnston also snapped up defender Chris Chantler from the Brunton Park club. With former Hearts manager Gary Locke now second in command to Johnston it looks like Kilmarnock are setting themselves up for a decent season after the last few years in the doldrums. It's almost four years since Kilmarnock won in Inverness. Craig Bryson, Liam Kelly and Jamie Hamill scored for the visitors and Richie Foran countered for Inverness who had Ryan Esson in inspired form in goals to keep the score respectable. Since then it has been two home wins and three 1-1 draws. These used to be high scoring entertaining games but recent encounters in the Highlands have been won by tight margins or have been drawn matches. Inverness won the head to heads last season with two wins to Killie's one. This game is nicely set up for an open encounter with both sides having players capable of doing something out of the ordinary. Inverness will be looking to Billy McKay to return to scoring form amid speculation that Peterborough have had a bid rejected for his services. It's encouraging to note that others are chipping in with goals this early in the season and our defence has been on top since day one. 508 minutes without conceding is miserly in the least and as long as we can keep it tight then new club records look like being broken this weekend. I'm sure Jamie Hamill will get a rapturous welcome, he of the infamous Derek Adams barging incident, still one of the most hilarious football clips ever. Legend. Latest Team News:- Inverness are still without Richie Foran; Richie who I hear you say! Danny Devine is also still out but nearing a return having played a bounce game in midweek. James Vincent is fit enough to return and gives Hughes another option, although the squad seems to be managing fine without him. . Kilmarnock can call upon Lee Miller who came on as a sub in midweek after an injury hit start to his Kilmarnock career. Tope Obadeyi will be assessed prior to the journey North after tweaking his hamstring against Ayr, and Nichael Ngoo has shaken off an ankle knock and could be added to the squad. tm4tj Prediction:- In keeping with recent years, I reckon we will do well to win all three points and might have to settle for a share of the spoils if Killie dig deep. I don't see us losing this one, but a point is not a disaster although all three will be more than welcome. And it's all happening over the bridge. There's only one thing more irritating than the Ice Bucket Challenge and that has now been resolved. Derek Adams has been removed from his post at Dingwall along with his father George, as Roy MacGregor has had enough with County's poor showing last season and a dismal start to this campaign which sees them prop up the League with zero points from their opening four games. Maybe it's the constant changing of County's squads that has been Deek's undoing. Danny Lennon is willing to throw his hat into the ring and would target that area as something that needs addressed. Oh well, one door closes and another opens. Terry Butcher is another name doing the rounds and that would not surprise me after his fingers were burnt in the downfall of Hibernian. And why not. He has always professed his love for the area and he knows how to get the best out of low budget players, the market that County share with most other Scottish clubs.

Champions head north First stern test of the season coming up on Saturday as Inverness host champions Celtic in the lunchtime kick off at 12:30. Two of the top young talents in the Scottish game will be on display in Callum McGregor for the visitors and our own Ryan Christie likely to get his fourth start of the campaign. If there's ever a good time to get Celtic, then this could be it with this game sandwiched between their quest to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League, after their reinstatement to the competition when Legia Warsaw fell foul of the regulations and were removed from the event. They faced a tough away game at Maribor last Wednesday and the return game follows this Tuesday at Parkhead. Cheat Derk Boerrigter will miss this one after his blatant dive against St Johnstone was spotted by the beaks and he serves a two match ban. May 2011 was the last time we defeated Celtic in Inverness and our last two games against the Celts saw us ship eleven goals without reply at Parkhead. Our only home game last season was much tighter with Celtic edging it 0-1, thanks to an early Kris Commons goal. Young Christie came tantalisingly close to securing a point in that game but was just unable to direct a header on target in the final minute. Ginger Jaggy has been busy sorting this preview for us......... The league champions head north for their first domestic test against the League leaders up in the highland capital. John Hughes’s new look side took apart the runners up of the last two seasons last weekend, now we have our eyes firmly set on the champions and favourites to retain their title. There is no better time to play Celtic with the situation going for us to pull off another of those famous victories. We have picked up 7 points from our 3 matches without conceding. Celtic has played a game less and although they have won comfortably in both outings so far they have looked far from convincing. Their 3-0 opening win away to St Johnstone only came after a mistake and a dodgy penalty award got them out of a hole. For the first hour they looked devoid of ideas to break down an organised and stubborn Saints side who grew in confidence and had chances of their own to put even more misery on the hoops after their embarrassment in Europe. The score line was a surprise against a table topping Dundee Utd side that put up very little resistance, but looking at the goals it was less of one of those Celtic performances but more about mistakes and some abysmal defending from set pieces. The Celtic side is as weak a side that Caley Thistle will have played in the top flight. There have been better which we have beaten in the past so we shouldn’t be daunted about the challenge. Players are gone and with Fraser Forster another high profile player away, Scott Brown injured, a lot will rest on the talent of Kris Commons as Ronny Deila tries to stamp his authority on his new club. But for all this we still must not underestimate as they still have the largest resources and budget in the league. As for us, well it looks like the penny has finally dropped. Last season Yogi tried to implement the start of his philosophy but it failed to work with a lack of preparation work in training due to the fixture congestion we suffered. There were still complaints after a disappointing 0-0 draw against newly promoted Dundee just under 2 week ago but last weekend showed the potential of this new style if the players do click. 2-0 was a flattering score line for the Steelmen as it could have been potentially close to Celtics demolition of United last Saturday. But scoreline aside it was a complete performance where Motherwell never got a sniff. Our boys kept the ball so well and pressed with such efficiency that you could be mistaken for watching a Barcelona match from a few years ago. Seriously though Motherwell, a side that has been a bogey side for us were given a footballing lesson. Hopefully we can continue that form as we face the hardest challenge this season. Celtic will start favourites but as long as we don’t end up anywhere near the hiding we suffered at Parkhead last season then it will be an improvement. But I think we can rise to the occasion and get a result after Celtics travels to Slovenia. Yogi has this to say ahead of the big game Inverness will be without Captain Richie Foran who is reported to be a few weeks from returning and Danny Devine is short of fitness after recovering from his injury. There is a doubt over the fitness of James Vincent but like last week, we never missed him and have players of equal calibre to step in, with Watkins, Doran, Ross and Williams looking to start. Celtic are without naughty Bhoy Boerrigter, and Scott Brown is out along with James Forrest and Adam Matthews. Not a major problem for the Hoops with their depth of squad, and one which Deila might tamper with anyway as the money spinning Champions League Qualifier is more important for them in the bigger picture with the Premiership a mere sideshow. tm4tj Prediction:- Early season interfering with European games is usually the best time to tangle with the big Bhoys although Dundee Utd came a cropper last week. Our defence is key to taking anything from this game and so far they have been excellent. Will we get a result. Yes, anything is possible but I am going for a draw, although we might lose our defensive clean sheet. 1-1 for me as long as we concentrate for ninety plus minutes.

Passing Time After less than favourable midweek results for either side, Inverness visit Fir Park to take on last seasons Premiership runners up Motherwell, not something we have relished over the last few seasons. While Inverness were unable to break down a determined Dundee at home, Motherwell were slipping to defeat against pace setters Dundee United. Inverness, however, can build on the two clean sheets and unbeaten start so far and the continuity of last years squad will breed familiarity. Stuart McCall has been quick to add loan signings to his squad. Henrik Ojamaa and Mark O'Brien could feature in the Motherwell squad if they receive international clearance in time. Ojamaa has been loaned back to Motherwell from Legia Warsaw in a six month deal. The pacey Estonian had a good 18 month spell at Fir Park before joining Warsaw last summer and was a fans favourite with his direct style. O'Brien is a tough tackling defender brought in as cover with Well's established back line injury hit at the moment. John Hughes is sticking to his game plan of ball retention and it worked well enough at Hamilton on the opening day, but at home the fans impatience is audible and sometimes a more direct approach might create more openings. Nonetheless the manager and players seem content to pass it around in their own half looking to create an opening, but how long the fans will put up with this remains to be seen. Fir Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Inverness of late. It's five visits since Inverness won 0-1 on the 14th January 2012. Gregory Tade scored the winner with a fierce shot from 25 yards that day as Inverness recorded their sixth win in nineteen attempts. We used to be regular winners at Motherwell in our early visits there, but that has been our only Fir Park victory since 2006. Last season Motherwell got the better of us with three wins to our one, where we caught them cold in August before their season took off properly. Zaine Francis-Angol took a knock in midweek and is struggling to make this one. He could be added to the growing injury list that boasts Adam Cummins, Steven Hammell, Simon Ramsden, Iain Vigurs and Craig Moore among it's members. Inverness defender David Raven has shrugged off a groin problem and James Vincent could feature after being substituted in midweek. Many fans wonder if Vincent is the right choice anyway and Marley Watkins is pushing hard for a start. Richie Foran and Danny Devine remain sidelined. tm4tj Prediction:- With one of our tormentors in chief sidelined (Iain Vigurs) Motherwell will be less able to take control of the midfield where we should be reasonably strong. The main concern will be whether to play the largely ineffective James Vincent or go with the livelier Marley Watkins who has shown up well in his two substitute appearances. If Ojamaa gets clearance he will be one to watch and we would be well advised to limit his time on the ball. I'm going against the grain here and am looking for a cheeky wee win if we can get some service to McKay and Christie. 0-1 for me if we can avoid the draw.

More points up for grabs First home game of the new season pairs Inverness against another of last seasons Championship sides, winners Dundee who opened their campaign with a flag unfurling and a point against Kilmarnock. Dundee usually come forth in good numbers and will be a welcome addition to the Premiership bringing with them a swagger amongst their ranks that is hard to ignore as they tell you that there's only one team in Tayside and us Teuchters should be put back where we belong, amongst the sheep and cattle and keeping it in the family etc etc etc....... RossP has been weighing up the opposition and he has penned this excellent preview for us, so without further ado, read on. My Maths teacher Mr Morrison regularly used the phrase “empty barrels make the most noise”; a comment that has come into my mind since the re-emergence of Dundee fans on the Premiership sub forum of Pie and Bovril. Unfortunately it seems many of these fans have learned very little from their spectacular collapse in the race with ICT for the first division title and their financial troubles in the seasons prior to that. It may be a minority of Dundee fans that embarrass their club online like this, but there is a definite feeling of optimism swelling through the more sensible members of the fan base thanks to Hartley’s new look team. Hartley, who was unsuccessful in his interview(s) for the ICT job will be looking to release any feelings of rejection with three points on Wednesday night. A young, ambitious and hardworking manager who the majority of ICT fans (including myself) wanted at the helm following Terry Butcher’s departure to relegate Hibernian FC, Hartley cut his teeth in the lower leagues, gaining successive promotions over 3 seasons with Alloa and then Dundee. During this time he quickly gained a reputation for instilling professionalism into his teams where modern methods of preparation and recovery were adopted and embraced with part-time players. His teams were extremely hard to break down, with clean sheets and marginal wins being the regular outcome each weekend. I would anticipate a similar approach to this week’s fixture, where the onus will be on ICT to take advantage of the few chances that Dundee will look to limit us to. Form ICT come into this fixture with a comfortable and impressive victory away to Premiership newcomers Hamilton, using a starting eleven who all played at the club last season. This is a stark contrast to the Dundee team who drew 1-1 with Kilmarnock with a large contingent making only their first or second competitive appearance. The new look Dundee side will feel aggrieved that they couldn’t match the expectations of the near 7,000+ home supporters on Saturday, after passing up several opportunities to get the three points that their possession and play deserved. Positive performances from new signings Tankulic, Harkins, Ferry and McGowan will be cheered by the fanbase, whilst some may remain sceptical about former Hibee James McPake, who conceded the foul that Killie scored from. John Hughes has said in pre-season that he will mix his formation, playing style and players to suit the match they are playing and that could have been the reason behind leaving Watkins and Doran on the bench. Williams and Vincent filled the wide roles with both receiving positive reports from fans attending the match. Williams provided the shot to set up Christie’s goal and gives the team natural width on the left hand side, whilst Vincent broke the Hamilton play up operating as a narrow right midfielder. Whether both are in the starting eleven for the upcoming fixture remains to be seen, but both perhaps deserve to continue in these positions. Another player with a fight to cement a regular spot is Ryan Christie, who continued his rich vein of scoring as a starter and provided excellent foil for Mckay with intelligent runs and defence splitting passes. Not one ICT fan will want him dropped to the bench any time soon, but we will have to protect him at times during the season to avoid burnout. Shinnie also saw a welcome return to his natural position at left back and was immense by all accounts, both in defence and in his attacking runs. Recent matches between ICT and Dundee have favoured the highland team, holding a seven match unbeaten run since the 3-2 Challenge Cup final defeat in 2009. There has been a dominance at home in particular with the five fixtures resulting in four wins and a draw. The most recent match was last season in the League Cup 3rd round, a 1-0 win with a trade mark Billy McKay close range finish. Such is the turnaround in Dundee’s personnel that only five of their match day squad from that fixture were in their squad for last weekend’s draw with Kilmarnock. Player availability John Hughes will be pleased to have all his players come through Saturday’s match unscathed, in addition to being provided a selection headache after the performances of Doran and Watkins from the bench. Team captain Foran remains unavailable following knee surgery and Devine is no closer to a comeback from injury in pre-season. Whilst the transfer window remains open, clubs will continue to enquire about players such as McKay and Shinnie. The club have made it clear though that it would only be an exceptional offer that would see anyone depart. Fans remain concerned about the lack of signing(s) coming in, especially in the forward area but Hughes looks likely to persist with the position flexibility approach that he adopted last season. Inverness have also added ex Hibernian versatile midfielder Lewis Horner to the squad and he spoke to Iain Auld after the victory at Hamilton. Paul Hartley will likely keep a very similar team to Saturday but could alter the formation to swell the midfield and combat ICT’s strongest department. There is a chance Hartley’s preferred goalkeeper Scott Bain could come back in to side following injury, but there is no chance former ICT player Phil Roberts will face his former employers due to a hilarious incident with a water cooler earning him a lengthy ban last season. RossP prediction – This will be a low scoring game in which the cliché of the importance of getting the opening goal will be prevalent. Whoever goes 1-0 up will look to defend their lead and slow the match down. This will be an ugly game, but one that we should be looking to get three points from. @RossP_ICT

Steep learning curve for Academicals Accies were taught a sharp lesson on their return to the top class as Inverness showed them why they have been lingering around the top-six for the last couple of seasons with a clinical display. First half goals from Billy McKay and Ryan Christie were enough to send the points North and the newly promoted club will need to up their game if they are to make an impact this season. The continuity on the park gave Inverness the edge and it showed as Accies nervously conceded possession at the back allowing McKay to open the scoring. Christie doubled the advantage, tapping in after a Williams shot was touched on by McGovern and that endeth the scoring. The visitors held out comfortably for the three points and could have added to their tally as Watkins clattered the crossbar in the second half. Ross Draper made the starting X1 but there was no place for Aaron Doran who started from the bench in an otherwise familiar Inverness first choice. Full Time 0-2 Full report to follow...................... Hamilton Accies 0 - 2 Inverness CT McKay (10), Christie (25) Hamilton Accies: McGovern, Gordon, Hendrie (Ryan 80), Devlin, Canning, Gillespie, Imrie, Scotland (Antoine Curier 68), Neil, Longridge (Crawford 46), Redmond. Subs not used: Currie (GK), MacDonald, Docherty, Garcia Tena. Inverness CT: Brill, Raven, Warren, Meekings, Shinnie, Draper, Tansey, Vincent (Watkins 74), Williams (Doran 74), Christie (Ross 88), Mckay. Subs not used: Esson (GK), Tremarco, Horner, Polworth. Referee: Don Robertson Attendance: 1622

And they're off........ Well, that's pre-season done and dusted and newly promoted Hamilton Academical await Inverness in the seasons opener at New Douglas Park. Accies have come a long way since being formed by the rector and pupils at the local school in Hamilton in 1874. They were of course, promoted in sensational fashion after ousting Terry Butcher's Hibernian in the play off system via a dramatic penalty shoot-out. That was Butcher's last stand as he was removed from his post with Hibs being relegated. So, Accies it is, complete with Dougie Imrie that host us this Saturday. Our pre-season ended with defeat at Birmingham as John Hughes side lost 3-1 with Gary Warren notching our counter. We had beaten Fleetwood Town 2-1 the previous week and by all accounts we appear hell bent on playing the short passing and ball retention game that we ended our last campaign with, despite most onlookers fearing that this could be our downfall. Yogi's take on it is ball retention at all times. If we have the ball we might score, if they have the ball, they might score. Simplistic enough, but not always working out, especially when losing the ball near your own box. Bit of work still required on that one. Our squad remains intact at the moment and there has been little personnel change, although Ryan Baptie, the former Hibernian midfielder has looked promising when he has been given some game time. We looked to be crying out for someone to help out Billy McKay but so far nobody has filled that void although young starlet Ryan Christie has shown massive potential when he plays. It appears that Fleetwood Town have tabled a bid for McKay and this has been rejected for now, but it remains to be seen if we will need someone to assist Billy, or a replacement. Hamilton Accies have signed Falkirk goalkeeper Michael McGovern, him of the big ears jibes, (good keeper nonetheless although he does flap a bit at times) and Clyde midfielder Kieran MacDonald and Imrie is back for a second spell at the club. Mickael Antoine-Curier has signed a further one-year deal and will be looking to add to the 13 goals he scored last season. Jason Scotland and Jesus Garcia Tena have also agreed extended deals which gives boss Alex Neil plenty of continuity to build on last seasons exploits. Midfielder Danny Redmond is a familiar name signed from from Wigan. He was previously on loan to Accies in 2012 when he scored 5 times in 19 games. Accies have already ended their summer break and were in victorious League Cup action, defeating Arbroath 2-1, but were very much on top. Imrie and Longridge scoring the goals as Hamilton forced the pace of the game and ran out comfortable winners despite a late consolation from Arbroath. Inverness have been without fans favourite Ross Draper for the latter part of pre-season, but he could start in this one. Richie Foran is not ready for action after knee surgery last season. One or two knocks taken during the holidays with Raven being subbed early at Birmingham and Devine missing out as well. Hamilton boss Alex Neil has no fresh worries with Jon Routledge and Tony Andreu not fully recovered from their injuries yet. tm4tj Prediction:- Recent games against Hamilton have been pretty dour affairs and that may prove to be the case once more with a single goal being enough to win this one. It could go either way so I'll settle for a share of the points.