Caley Thistle manager John Hughes is so confident his players will beat Hearts in the League Cup semi-final on Sunday he would happily have let the Jambos play the tie at their Tynecastle home.
But it is on the other side of Edinburgh that the Inverness supporters will be outnumbered by seven to one as 2,000 Highlanders make the trip to Hibernian’s Easter Road.
Hughes is far from daunted by the prospect. He said: “I am told they have sold 14,000 tickets and it is just like going to Tynecastle. It doesn’t faze me or the players and I don’t think it fazes our supporters. I would rather play them at Tynecastle.
“It’s a stadium I love, with a great atmosphere and the last time we were there we beat them 2-0. So hopefully, history will repeat itself and we will be in the cup final.
“I watched their team against St Mirren this week and that team is good enough to be in the top six. So all this talk of young guys and injuries? They have good experience, good legs and good physical presence. They have good pace and youthful exuberance. We are going to have to be at our best to match them.”
Hearts rescheduled their game against St Mirren so that influential midfielder Ryan Stevenson could serve out a suspension and play on Sunday.
The Jambos have also been allowed by the league to bring in a replacement for under-21 midfielder Adam King, 18, who left for Swansea City, with West Ham forward Paul McCallum yesterday joining Hearts on loan.
Hughes is unconcerned by the Jambos manoeuvres. He added: “I love it. Hearts are not breaking any rules. I am delighted Ryan and anyone else will be playing. They are entitled to do that. It is all about what we do. My message to the players is go out and enjoy it.”