Caley Thistle manager John Robertson hopes forward Miles Storey has built up the confidence to thrive for the Highlanders in the coming weeks.
Storey netted a stunning goal in his last outing, with his strike securing a 1-1 draw against Dunfermline at Caledonian Stadium on December 29.
The former Aberdeen and Partick Thistle player has now netted two goals in his last four games since returning from a hamstring injury which sidelined him during the early part of the campaign.
🗑️ Top bins from Miles Storey!#SPFL | @ICTFC pic.twitter.com/1y4CPQAUJS
— SPFL (@spfl) December 30, 2020
Despite occasional frustration with the attacker’s play, Robertson insists Storey’s talent is not in doubt, and hopes the recent goals can help the 27-year-old produce his best form.
Robertson said: “Miles can be frustrating. He’s got everything you want for a centre forward, he’s quick, strong, good in the air, and he’s two-footed.
“When he doesn’t have to think about it he can be devastating.
“There are other times Miles can step over the ball or miscue it, but he can bring us so much.
“When he scored in the last game against Dunfermline, he was a completely different player. He was lively, suddenly his confidence was up.
“He’s capable of giving us so much more than just finishing, as can the likes of Shane Sutherland, Aaron Doran, Daniel MacKay and Nikolay Todorov.”
Inverness face three games in seven days next week, with Saturday’s Scottish Cup second round tie at Buckie Thistle followed by Tuesday’s home match against Queen of the South, before the Highlanders make the trip to Raith Rovers next weekend.
The Highlanders will be without defender Brad Mckay and midfielder David Carson for the trip to Victoria Park, due to suspensions incurred from last season’s competition.
Although Inverness have had two recent games against Morton and Arbroath called off due to weather, Robertson says he is having to manage his squad through the upcoming period.
He added: “We’ve got a squad for a reason, and part of it is that we knew there would be a lot of muscle injuries.
“We got more than our fair share at the start of the season, but whilst in the next four weeks you would like to have consistency of selection – people playing well enough to keep picking the same team – that’s not going to be the case.
“With midweek matches coming thick and fast and the Scottish Cup coming around the corner, where we have a couple of suspensions that will rule players out immediately, we’ve got to manage the squad through this period in particular.
“We’ve got to manage our squad through this run, and if we do then we go back to Saturday to Saturday and that’s when you get more of a consistency of selection when you’ve got seven days to prepare for and play each game.
“That’s when it’s really on the players to keep their place.”
Robertson handed starts to midfielders Sean Welsh and James Vincent in the Highlanders’ last outing at home to Dunfermline last Tuesday, along with Aaron Doran who was forced off due to a head knock.
Having faced numerous selection problems earlier in the season, Robertson feels the competition for places is now rife.
He added: “We’ve got most of our squad back now. It’s just a case of managing them properly, and making sure they get game time.
“We could see in the Dunfermline game that Sean Welsh and James Vincent looked a wee bit rusty, as they haven’t played consistently at this level for a while because of injury.
“In the second half they grew into the game a lot better. We need everybody to pull their weight.”