Caley Thistle midfielder Iain Vigurs hopes Saturday’s 5-1 loss to Dunfermline serves as a reality check for his team.
John Robertson’s side suffered a humbling loss at East End Park, with Callum Smith, Lee Ashcroft, Joe Cardle (2) and David Hopkirk on target for the Pars. Vigurs, who scored from a free kick to make it 2-1, accepted his side deserved nothing from the match.
He said: “We gave Dunfermline a two-goal start which we can’t afford to do in any league or any game. They were sloppy goals to concede but we got a lifeline with a goal of our own and slowly got ourselves back into the game.
“We then let Joe Cardle cut inside from the left on to his right foot. We all know what foot he kicks with and he scored a great goal. We didn’t learn from the mistake and he did the same thing in the second half.
“We got what we deserved from the game which was nothing. If we don’t learn the basics of football fast then we are going to struggle.
“Dunfermline are a good side but we made them look better than they are.”
Caley Jags are bottom of the Championship after two matches ahead of next week’s visit of Morton.
Vigurs was one of only four players from last season’s squad who started against Dunfermline on Saturday after a huge shake-up in the squad.
The 29-year-old warned it is important the new-look squad gels quickly or Inverness could end up in a similar situation to St Mirren, who flirted with the prospect of relegation from the Championship last season after having dropped down from the top flight.
The Buddies rallied to secure their status in the division but Vigurs added: “This is a wake-up call for us. We have had a big turnover of staff and a lot of the players in the squad haven’t played first-team football.
“We need to learn quickly what this division is all about.
“The performance against Dunfermline was completely unacceptable.”