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Bogey time Inverness take the relatively short trip (for us) to Perth this Saturday for a game against what could be considered one of our bogey teams over the last couple of seasons. No wins in our previous seven encounters with St Johnstone makes uncomfortable reading for Inverness fans. In fact we have only scored one goal in these last seven games against Perth, losing the Euro decider and four dour draws prior to that. We had to suffer the disappointment of losing the Europa spot to the Super J's, and that left a bitter taste in the mouth at the end of last season, a season that promised plenty and ended with nothing but a top-six place. In most of the recent matches, the sides seemed to cancel each other out, making for incredibly miserable viewing with few chances being created and only two goals being scored. However, this season Inverness have shown that they are capable of scoring and entertaining and our position at the head of the table is thoroughly deserved at this juncture. St Johnstone have stuttered to mediocrity so far this season, two wins, three defeats and three draws leaving them with only nine points, ten behind the league leaders. But that's enough from me and Kirishima will tell us all about it with this preview for you...........enjoy! Think Again After a brief respite at home against Hibs, Inverness are on the road again, albeit for the relatively short trip to Scotland’s 7th city, the “Gateway to the Highlands”, Perth. If any fans are feeling a little blasé over this fixture; think again: 1) ICT’s bogey team: It has been seven games and two and a half years since Inverness defeated the Saints with a LDDDDLL record. 2) The Chosen One: Highly sought after striker, Stevie May, is “heading for the top” 3) The Final Countdown: St.Johnstone pipped ICT to the Europa League Qualifying Stages on the last day (and knocked out Rosenborg) 4) The 3rd Derby: There are but 8 miles more from TCS to McDiarmid Park than there is to Pittodrie 5) Return to Sender: Perth gave us Gillian McKeith, Fred MacAuley, Alex Macleod and Stagecoach!! 6) They took Tade! There will be two players who will have a big say in the proceedings: Defensive-minded midfielder Patrick Cregg and the in-form Stevie May. The tussle between Irish midfielders Cregg and Foran will be highly anticipated. Cregg, a former first-team player at Arsenal, will be keen to neutralize what many Saints fans see as ICT’S biggest threat. “Stop Foran and we have a chance” was one prediction on their fans’ forum. Current Scotland U21 hot-shot Stevie May was prolific for Hamilton last year, with 26 goals in 35 games while on loan. This season, with 6 goals in 11 games, May is the threat to watch out for. Journeyman forward Steve MacLean will play slightly deeper and given time, will seek to harry the ICT back line and set up chances for May. If Neil Lennon is to be believed (!) we may see some Tom Daley impressions too. Murray Davidson, a Levein international, will be the creative force in midfield. Dean Brill meanwhile will have to watch out for the threat from St.Johnstone set-pieces. Left-sided midfielder David Wotherspoon is more than capable of scoring free-kicks from distance. Nigel Hasselbaink has been consistently used as a substitute winger on the right and may prove a danger in the later stages of a match. The experienced Perth defence has been disrupted somewhat with central defender Steven Anderson’s freak injury. His dislocated thumb couldn’t be reset and an operation keeps him out for up to two months. Looking to give a helping hand is ex-County player Gary Miller, who is likely to get the thumbs up from manager Tommy Wright and will look to grab the chance with both hands. ICT may well start with the same starting line up against Hibs. Terry proved against Dundee that if ain't broke, don't fix it. St Johnstone have had a slow start to the season, and new manager Tommy Wright is perhaps finding the European exploits taking its toll on the team. However, this is a team that defeated Rosenborg away from home, and were unlucky not to make it to the group stages. Head-to-head, the Saints have found Inverness to be kind opponents, and while Inverness receive much of the media hype at present, St. Johnstone will be favourites to seal a spot in Europe once again. A draw at McDiarmid Park would be a good result for ICT, but Terry never forgets; two and a half years is too long to wait for a win against our third geographical rivals. The key to getting a result in Perth will be neutralizing Stevie May. Many in the game expect the 20 year old to be leading the line for Scotland in a few years. A move to the Old Firm or the English Championship will surely be within reach in a few months. If ICTs defence stands firm, how Foran fares against Cregg might be the difference between a draw and a win at McDiarmid Park. Latest news from the Inverness camp is that James Vincent will miss a couple of weeks at least with a knee injury sustained in the win over Hibernian. Ben Greenhalgh replaced him that day and did his prospects no harm, although his match fitness might not last for a full ninety minutes. Other options could be to Introduce Toby Agdestein alongside Billy McKay, but a few from the u20's/reserves side will also be staking a claim for a start, notably Liam Polworth, Marley Watkins, Conor Pepper and Danny Devine. Adam Evans also showed up well in the u20's 3-0 win at Dunfermline last week, where Devine, Watkins and Callum Ferguson were the scorers.

Back to League business Inverness get the chance to show the home fans how they are progressing with a game at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium after a one month sabbatical away from the Highland capital. Free scoring Hibernian are the visitors on Saturday, fresh from banging home five goals against Stranraer in the League Cup on Tuesday night, Liam Craig scoring a hat-tick, the same evening Inverness crept past Dundee in the same competition thanks to a Billy McKay strike and some heroics from Dean Brill. Hibs are undefeated in six games since losing the Edinburgh derby to Hearts in mid-August, and have clawed their way up to fifth in the Premiership and look a tougher proposition than the team that slumped badly last season. In fact they have knuckled down hard since the humiliating drubbing they suffered at the hands of Malmo in the Europa League qualifiers. Hibs have only scored seven league goals, but their defence is second only to our own miserly lot, conceding five, one more than us. The long man returns to Inverness after his move to Hibs over the summer in his search for European football. Owain Tudur-Jones has been out for a couple of weeks with a niggling groin injury but will be added to the squad for this clash against his former club. Paul Cairney is on the comeback trail and will get an outing with Hibs u20's at the weekend, but this top team game comes too soon for him. Daniel Handling, Tim Clancy and Alex Harris are also sidelined. Inverness are hopeful that three mystery players will prove their fitness before kick off. Gary Warren is one obvious choice as the big centre back missed the Dundee game in midweek, Daniel Devine deputising in his absence. Richie Foran is another who might be struggling, looking like he hobbled off in midweek, but he is made of stern stuff is Richie, and it will take a brave man to tell him he is not playing. Butcher was no a happy bunny after the game at Dens Park, pleased to win the tie, but not impressed with the overall performance. In all honesty, most fans have seen this coming for a couple of weeks now after tentative displays at Kilmarnock and Aberdeen although we have done enough to remain at the top of the division, albeit on goal difference. The long ball seems to have returned at the expense of the passing game with our creative midfielders being passed by and Billy McKay working with scraps once more. Maybe with a return to Inverness, we will see a change of tactic if not personnel. Is it time for big Toby to get a start and give Billy some help up front? James Vincent appears to float in and out of games, maybe still adjusting to the pace of the SPFL, but Andy Shinnie he is not although he promises plenty but does not always deliver. One man doing his utmost to keep Inverness on top is loan keeper Dean Brill. He has been exemplary between the sticks and his display at Dundee was the difference between the sides as he broke Dundee hearts time and time again. Looks like Ryan Esson will have to wait a while for first team action. Our overall record up here is good against the Hibees and if we can knuckle down and get back to our blistering start to the season form then we should be able to upset the capital side, and I will stick my neck out and go for a narrow home victory by 2-1. The views from Easter Rd and Inverness