Caley Thistle manager Richie Foran is confident his players will show no signs of complacency as he aims to mark his managerial debut with a win against League 2 side Cowdenbeath in today’s Betfred Cup opener.
Foran takes charge of his first competitive game since replacing John Hughes as Inverness manager in May in this afternoon’s group stage tie Central Park.
Inverness are firm favourites against the Blue Brazil, who were relegated from League 1 last season, prompting them to sack manager Colin Nish and replace him with former Caley Jags midfielder Liam Fox.
Irishman Foran is taking nothing for granted but is confident his side will do a professional job and he said: “It’s a fantastic group and we want to get into the next round. We are up against some really tough opposition. Cowdenbeath will be a step up again. We will go there with lots of respect for our opponents but we will be positive because we have scored a lot of goals throughout pre-season and the players are looking really sharp.
“We do have respect for Cowdenbeath, they have some really good players, so we’ll be in for a really tough game. If we are not right in terms of attitude then we will struggle against them.”
Foran is determined to steer Caley Jags on a cup run in his first season in the dugout and insists he will not be treating the newly-introduced group stage of the Betfred Cup lightly.
He added: “Like the supporters, we want to go as far as we can. It won’t be easy and we might need some breaks or the luck of the draw at times, but we take these competitions very seriously. We want to win every game, be in pre-season or competitive.
“We want to win in everything we do, in life in general and that’s the attitude we have. There’s a positive feel around the place right now and they have a wonderful freedom to go and play football and express themselves.
“I will never have a go at them for losing the ball in the final third. I’d rather they had a go. If their attitudes are slack then I will hammer them but these lads all have the right attitude.”