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Painful viewing Inverness slumped to their worst ever home defeat to Celtic as they were humiliated on their own pitch by a rampant Celtic. The gulf in class was clearly evident as the champions strolled to an embarrassingly easy win over a hapless bunch of journeymen and kids as our two experienced heads sat in the stand, unable to participate because of rashness akin to schoolboys. I won't go into great detail, but suffice to say that Celtic bossed this game from the start until the last ten minutes when the industrious Ross Draper stole a couple of goals to deny Celtic a much more emphatic win that their superiority deserved. I'm sorry to report that this was certainly a case of men against boys, and Celtic were not the boys. We were like rabbits caught in the headlights, simply overwhelmed by the champions who were able to cut us open every time they got the ball. The only surprise was that it was only 2-0 at half time as Mulgrew cracked the bar with a brilliant free kick and numerous chances went astray, or Esson denied them the glory of more goals. As early as the fourth minute, the imposing Wanyama rose unchallenged to power a header home. It was a mystery how Celtic took another twenty minutes to increase their lead, but there was nothing surer, they were going to do it sooner or later. Watt brushed aside a powder puff challenge to waltz through the Inverness back line and coolly slot the ball behind an exposed Ryan Esson. Inverness were all at sea at this point especially Raven who was caught out time and time again. Our midfield was non-existent and our strikers were nowhere to be seen. Half Time 0-2 The misery was piled on after the resumption and it was no surprise when Celtic went 3-0 up with a superb text book strike straight off the training ground, Mulgrew doing the needful. Watt stroked home his second and Celtic's fourth as the disgruntled home support could scarcely watch, many now removing themselves from the scene to relieve the pain. At this point, had it been under the Marquess of Queensberry rules, then the referee would have stopped the contest, or Butcher would have thrown in the towel. We did though, bounce back off the ropes and Draper scored a couple of consolation goals as Celtic took their foot off the gas......thank Christ for that. The second being set up nicely with a chipped cross from Conor Pepper who continues to show promise. Full Time 2-4 Inverness CT: Esson, Raven (Meekings 54), Graeme Shinnie,Warren, McKay, Draper, Andrew Shinnie, Ross (Pepper 66),King, Doran, Sutherland (Morrison 54). Subs not used: Reguero (GK), Laing, Polworth, Whyte. Celtic: Forster, Matthews (Bangura 68), Izaguirre (Chalmers 76), Wilson,McCourt, Mulgrew, Lustig, Watt, Twardzik, Wanyama, Hooper (Forrest 65). Sub not used: Zaluska (GK), Slane, Irvine, McGregor. Referee: Willie Collum. Attendance: 6,100. A six goal thriller? No, an absolutely embarrassing humiliation and we were fortunate not to lose another half dozen goals. Where do we go from here? To be honest there is little we can do but get behind the team, remember, for better or for worse. Times are hard, there is no money in the kitty and we will find it difficult to be competitive this season. That I'm afraid is the economics of the game in the lower echelons of the SPL. I may have been harsh in my chosen words, but sadly, that is the reality of the day, a day where thousands more witnessed it on telly. There is little point in constantly sniping about Butcher when his hands are tied by the finances, what we see is what we get, and what we get is what we see. You can't buy the quality of players we see on TV every week with no money and we will just have to go with what we have at the moment. Ross Draper was our man of the match, unfortunately there were eleven better ones wearing green on Saturday. However, we have a league of our own within the SPL and that is the games where we need to channel our energies towards, against teams at our level as this is going to be a difficult season for more than just Inverness. It's all doom and gloom. We just have to write off these games against Celtic as we can't compete against their multi-million pound charges, but we need to keep an eye on the Dundee's the St Johnstone's and the St Mirren's of this league, they are our real competitors. Let's get behind the team, they need our support more than ever.

Breakfast football It's an early kick off at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium this Saturday (12:45) as Celtic, for the second week running visit the Highlands for a lunchtime start, this time against Inverness. Well travelled Celtic have been to Helsinki, Philadelphia, Dingwall, Helsingborg and now Inverness in successive games. Sounds like something from an episode of Only Fools and Horses! Both sides left it late last weekend to snatch draws in time added on. For Inverness, young Conor Pepper salvaged a draw for the ten man Highlanders in the capital, whilst Neil Lennon's champions struggled to subdue a spritely Ross County as Kris Commons equalised after a thunderous free kick from Richard Brittain had opened the scoring, Counties first ever SPL goal. For the second week running, Inverness were reduced to ten men. This time Richie Foran was sent packing after a rash lunge at Ryan McGowan on the halfway line. Foran should really know better than this, but he continually pushes the refs to the limits and he can have little complaints or sympathy after his most recent indiscretion. Considering he was just back after missing the opening two games through suspension then it would appear that he has not learned anything and surely the time has come for Butcher to get his golden bollocks to toe the line or face the punishment that fits the crime. Foran's ommission comes on top of Jones' ban and they will both sit out this TV encounter with Celtic. Our squad is thin enough without having a man sent off every week and having two vastly experienced players missing for this game could be detrimental to our chances of remaining unbeaten this season. One thing that could sway it back in our favour is that Celtic had a European tie at Helsingborgs to contend with and they won't enjoy another trek to the Highlands in the same week either. Ki Sung-yueng will not be here on Saturday, he will be joining Swansea for a fee believed to be around £5 or £6 million. That will give Celtic a £3 to £4 million pound profit for the 23 year old South Korean, and will help to pay off some of their £7 million debt the club revealed in February. Skipper Scott Brown, striker Gary Hooper, midfielder Paddy McCourt and winger James Forrest all missed the 1-1 draw with Ross County in Dingwall on Saturday, Lennon saving them for the Champions league game in Sweden. Celtic warmed up for this one with a Champions League Qualifier against Helsingborgs IF and they made a quick start to the game, Commons scoring in the first couple of minutes. Joe Ledley went off injured after an hour and Commons followed with Hooper hobbling off at the end. Samaras scored a decisive second but the scoreline is not as interesting to me as the injury list, with a trip to Inverness looming. Recent Form The last six encounters in the Highlands (including two SFA Cup games) show Celtic winning four with one no scoring draw and a solitary victory for Inverness, one which still hurts the Celtic fans. A 3-2 victory saw Celtic blow their title aspirations in May 2011 and allowed a now defunct Glasgow club to pinch the league championship. One young man had one of his finest games for ICT that day and scored a stunning goal. Alas, Shane Sutherland has struggled somewhat since his early promise, being played mainly out wide, possibly not his strongest position, but it's not for the want of trying. Other scorers for Inverness that day were Mulgrew (og) and departing defender Grant Munro. Kris Commons scored both Celtic's goals, the second one a penalty in stoppage time. Latest Team News Inverness have the two suspended players out, bad boys Foran and Jones. Boss Butcher decided not to contest the red card decision as it would have been a waste of time. Guilty as charged m'lud. Jason Oswell has an achilles injury and Chris Hogg is still missing from his long term knee damage. Butcher has a choice to make in midfield where either Morrison or Ross will fill the gap left by the red carded pair, and a change of tactics is on the cards as well. Celtic boss Neil Lennon has midweek knocks to contend with. Rogne, Brown, Hooper, Commons, Kayal and Ledley all struggled at Helsingborgs. With McGeough, and Stokes still injured, it seems that they are joined by Kayal (ankle) and Ledley (groin) with the other walking wounded trying to make the squad for Inverness. Tony Watt and James Forrest came through the game though, and Forrest especially looked very dangerous driving at the defence and will be a handful for any defenders in the SPL. Mo Bangura could be ready to return from a thigh strain.

Festival of Football at Tynecastle Scottish Cup holders Hearts will host Inverness Caledonian Thistle this weekend in the third SPL game of the season as the Edinburgh Festival gets into full swing. Inverness have failed to hold on to a lead in both of their opening fixtures, being pegged back to draws at Paisley and Inverness although it is a better start to the campaign than last term. Things looked bright in the opening exchanges against Killie last week but failure to add to the early goal from midfielder Andy Shinnie saw the visitors claw their way back into the match and level the scores before half-time, well a couple of minutes into time added on at the interval. This lack of concentration is a worrying trend with Inverness losing vital goals at very late stages of either half with annoying regularity. Hearts started their season off with victory at home against St Johnstone and an unconvincing draw in the Edinburgh derby last Sunday. They too have yet to establish their best line up and formation after the departure of some of their high earners at the end of their cup winning season. Notable leavers are Ian Black, Craig Beattie who has joined St Johnstone, Suso Santana and the excellent Rudi Skacel. They will be without the services of David Templeton who has been banned for two games after lashing out at James McPake in the Edinburgh derby and likewise Inverness will have the red misted Owain Tudur-Jones absent after his aberration against Kilmarnock. Capital Caley gives us an insight into this game with this preview We head down to Tynecastle for our second away day of the season. It’s been an interesting to the season. A draw away from home to St Mirren and a draw at home to Kilmarnock in games that we could have won if we had taken our chances. Hearts started strongly against St Johnstone with an easy 2-0 win. However, next up was derby rivals Hibernian. Most neutrals would have predicted a Hearts win, but they were surprisingly poor and could only manage the draw. Caley Thistle are in a much better shape than they were this time last season. We had lost both of the opening games to Motherwell and Hibs. We were already plagued and the opening performances were very poor. Things are looking a lot brighter now. We have two more points in the bag. So far, the starting XI / squad is stable (with the exception of Owain-Tudur-Jones after last weeks moment of madness!!!). We still have players such as Chris Hogg to come back but the important thing is the players who have played in the first two games have done well. Aaran Doran is looking great and if he can keep his performances up, he will be an asset to the squad. Terry Butcher has also changed the style of play this season which is a breathe of fresh air. We are enjoyable to watch again. However, I do not expect us to do well in every game. Last week we certainly didn’t play well in the second half. However, the passing play was there without the need for a hoof. With Captain Richie Foran back for the Hearts game (and presumably replacing the suspended OTJ) we will have that leadership spark in midfield that will help motivate the players against Hearts. It’s great to have Richie back but in saying that, we played well enough against St Mirren without him. But from a happy clapper perspective, imagine how well we will play with him back in the starting line up!!! I am hopeful anyway. Despite the financial difficulties within the SPL and the implications of Rangers going bust and a new team representing the city of Glasgow entering the 3rd Division, I don’t think the Caley Thistle community has ever been so united. The Supporters Trust and Supporters Club coming together to create Caley Jags Together looks to be a success. The new Juanjo Away Supporters Group is small in numbers but it’s an exciting new project that I am delighted to be involved with. The Couriers ‘All Together Now’ campaign is helping to get more publicity for the club. It’s a shame we can’t get more people from Inverness to come along to watch the games. I’m sure if they came along to Tynecastle on Saturday they would see a great game. Unfortunately, far too many are interested in supporting teams that represent different citys. Each to their own though. However, with free offered at last weeks game and £6 entry to the Gorgie Suite this Saturday for Caley Jags Together, you cannot fault the club and fans involved with the club for trying. Back to the match itself and I think it will be very easy to the team again. Obviously OTJ is out. He will be a miss for sure. But, I’d imagine Richie will take his place and assume the role of Captain again. After that, there may not be much need to change the team too much. Many of the CTO posters would like to see Nick Ross start and maybe Terry is thinking this also. However, my guess at Butcher's line up would be the same as last week with Richie instead of OTJ. Caley Thistles last trip to Tynecastle resulted in a 2-1 defeat with Ross Tokely getting an equaliser just after half time before the Jambos went 2-1 up. It’s a game that we played well but our defence were caught out far too often. We have had a reasonable amount of success at Gorgie through the years. One of the more recent occasions was the 1-1 draw on 4th December 2010. We were plucky that day. Hearts battered our goal in the second half but the defence was solid and we hung on for the draw. In fact, we could have won that game as Russell Duncan missed a one on one chance in front of goal in the last minute. But that draw was a big result for Caley Thistle as it meant we were then 13 months unbeaten away from home but also with no more away games that month, a whole calendar year unbeaten away from home. It was twenty-ten with Terry and Mo! After the great atmosphere generated by the fans at Paisley on the first game of the season, it would be great to generate the same, if not better atmosphere at Tynecastle. Judging by remarks from certain players, it would appear that they were very appreciative of the support at the St Mirren game. We may be small in numbers, but we can still make a noise. Lets roar on the team to 3 points. Caley Jags Together, Juanjo Away, All together now, Caley Away with Terry and Mo! CapitalCaleys prediction:- If we keep the ball on the deck and play like we did against Coventry, St Mirren and the first 20 minutes of Kilmarnock then we could actually win this game. It will be difficult though. Hearts should contend for the 2nd spot and could even push Celtic all the way. However, we have Foran back and on our day we can beat anyone. We are playing good football, there is an increased team morale, there is a feel good factor with (most of) the fans and if we give the team our backing, we have a great chance. If we do win though, it will be at a slim margin. Hearts have winger David Templeton out for this one which will be a massive loss for them. I’m going to sit on the fence on this one. I could be a draw, or a slim victory for either team. All together now..........Caley Away with Terry and Mo! Latest Team News Inverness will welcome back captain Richie Foran after the skipper missed the first two games of the season due to suspension. He will slot straight into the side with Owain Tudur-Jones being suspended. Chris Hogg is still not back to full fitness yet. Other than that Butcher has a full squad to choose from. John McGlynn has a couple of missing players. Templeton is suspended and young keeper Mark Ridgers is out for at least three months with ligament damage sustained in the u21 international in midweek. Jamie Hammil is definitely out with a knee injury. Mehdi Taouil may not start as he is fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and a full ninety minutes may be too much for him. Peter Enckelman has signed a short term deal as the Jambo's goalkeeping crisis deepens. With Ridgers sidelined, regular keeper Jamie MacDonald may need some time off soon as his partner is expecting their first child anytime now and the big Finn may well find himself thrust into the action soon. Over the Bridge there is an interesting early kick off at 12:15 as Ross County entertain league champions Celtic and this will be an early indicator as to whether the new kids on the block will hack it in the SPL. So far so good for County with two draws, but no goals yet.