Caley Thistle midfielder Ross Draper is adamant Saturday’s 5-0 thrashing at Celtic Park will have no detrimental impact on the team’s preparations for the League Cup final.
Inverness had intended to use the weekend’s match as a dress rehearsal for their March 16 cup-final meeting with Aberdeen at Parkhead but it was an afternoon for Caley Jags to forget as the Hoops eased to victory.
A Leigh Griffiths hat-trick and goals from Charlie Mulgrew and Kris Commons ensured the Premiership leaders returned to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat by the Dons at Pittodrie last Tuesday ended their hopes of going the entire season unbeaten in the league.
Draper was disappointed with his side’s performance but said there is no chance his team-mates will be psychologically affected by losing so heavily at the stadium just a fortnight before the final.
He said: “We just have to forget about what happened.
“Celtic played well and we were well below-par. Some of the lads had said it was a dress rehearsal for the cup final and it was a good chance to get out there and get to know the pitch.
“It will be a similar atmosphere in a couple of weeks. It is always great to play in places like this and it will be a great day for everyone when it comes around.
“Aberdeen are a completely different team and have their own different qualities. They are all bonus games when you play Celtic and it will be a much more even game against Aberdeen.”
Draper was full of praise for man-of-the-match Griffiths and added he would have preferred the Scotland international to have remained at Wolves rather than have returned north of the border to join the Hoops during the January transfer window.
He said: “I am a Wolves supporter, so I know what Leigh is all about. All my friends back home had been raving about him and they wanted him to stay there. He has come back to Scotland but I would have preferred him to have stayed at Molineux. He is a quality player.”
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