Duncan Ferguson hopes the prospect of finally moving up the Championship table will be enough to motivate Inverness Caledonian Thistle to end their poor run of form at home.
The Caley Jags return to the Highland capital this weekend to take on Ayr United. They haven’t triumphed there since mid-November.
Ferguson’s team has not lost in their previous five games, but four draws have maintained ICT in ninth place in the league standings, one position out of the relegation play-offs.
Though they are still only one point behind Queen’s Park in sixth place in an extremely congested league, a win this weekend will at the very least move Inverness above Ayr.
Thus, one outcome might potentially alleviate two distinct causes of annoyance, and Ferguson is certain that Caley Thistle will meet expectations.
It’s a significant one for both clubs, he remarked, because Ayr is right above us in the league.
“Despite the fact that we don’t seem to be winning, we’re having a strong run of play. We need to win in order to move up the standings because we’ve had a lot of draws.
Since we are nearing the finish of the season, these games are all crucial.
“Knowing we can surpass Ayr is encouraging, but our main goal is to strive to improve the home form.
“It has been months and months since we last won in this league.
That has really increased the burden on us. We have had a wonderful away record—third best in the division after Dundee United and Raith Rovers—but we must improve at home this weekend since our performance there has been dismal.
In a league table this close, teams could find themselves in a variety of situations.
Even though there are still a few teams who may possibly place in the relegation play-offs, Inverness, who are six points behind Morton in fourth place, is still in the promotion play-offs.
The Championship has been so crowded in recent years that it has become the norm, providing everyone something to contend with in the final weeks of the season.
Ferguson, therefore, believes that decisions won’t be made until the very last minute.
He thought, “We expect it to go all the way.”
“This season has been lengthy and difficult. I believe it will go down to the wire because, aside from the top two, all of the teams appear to be fairly comparable to one another.
“We would really get a boost to move towards mid-table if we win on Saturday.”
The game against Ayr is important because we have a big away game against Dundee United after that.
Inverness Nikola Ujdur’s absence tomorrow will not ease Caledonian Thistle’s workload, as the Australian defender reaggravated his hamstring injury during training.
This week, James Carragher has also been sidelined following
the Wigan defender on loan is anticipated to be healthy enough to play against Ayr after missing last Saturday’s match against Airdrieonians.
