Caley Thistle defender Graeme Shinnie has vowed not to get caught up in the hype and hysteria surrounding the first Highland derby of the season at Ross County on Friday night.
Keeping calm and carrying on amid the passion of the game at Victoria Park will be a key factor, according to the 22-year-old, pictured below.
Inverness failed to win at Victoria Park in three matches last term, falling to a final-day league defeat at Dingwall which ended their hopes of competing in this season’s Europa League.
Shinnie said: “The games were madness, but we have to approach it as a normal match.
“It is one of the matches you look to when the fixtures come out. The rivalry has done a lot for both sides, you just need to look at last season and how well both teams did.
“It was only in the last few games we got away from them, but then everyone knows what happened in the final game of the season.
“It has been good for the game in Scotland and for the Highlands to have both sides up there doing well.
“We have quite a few players who are used to the derby, but County have a lot of new faces so it will be interesting – they will know what it is all about after the first 10 minutes.
“It could be a factor, but I am sure they will enjoy it.
“The whole town gets talking about it all week and the players love it as well.”
Shinnie was down but not disheartened after missing out on European competition.
He added: “I don’t think this game on Friday night is about revenge.
“We were happy with how last season went. It was the highest the club has ever finished.
“Yes it was a disappointing day to lose in Dingwall to County, but we had to step back and look at the campaign as a whole so we didn’t get too down.
“I didn’t bother about the reaction of the County players or supporters.
“They celebrated, but they won the game and stopped us getting into European competition – they did what they wanted to do, so fair enough.
“It just shows what the derby means.
“We had won most of the meetings and that was their first victory so it pro- bably meant a lot.
“If we win on Friday we will be the ones celebrating like that.
“We looked on last season as a massive improvement and we have carried it on to this campaign.
“We know we are a good team and we can be up there challenging towards the top of the league.”