Caley Thistle will conclude their pre-season schedule tomorrow with a friendly away to English Championship side Birmingham City.
City avoided relegation from England’s second tier by the skin of their teeth last season, thanks to Paul Caddis’ 93rd-minute equaliser in the last minute of the Blues’ final game of the campaign against Bolton.
Inverness have maintained a winning habit throughout the summer, winning all seven matches.
The latest was a 2-1 victory over Fleetwood Town on Sunday but manager John Hughes insists tomorrow’s match – which will pit former Caley Jag Andrew Shinnie against his old side – will be the toughest yet.
Hughes said: “It’s a big ask of us but you have to have a belief and I’m trying to instil that in the dressing-room. Individually, the players have got to have a great belief of their touch.
“No matter where they go, they need to be able to control it, pass it, move and take it out on the pitch.
“It’s a step up against Birmingham. But if we want to go to places like Parkhead, Pittodrie or Tannadice and lock horns with these teams, we need to go to Birmingham and let them know we’re a match for them.
“It’s going to be very difficult but that’s the demands we’re going to put on the players.”
Hughes will hand starts to his trio of substitutes who came on against Fleetwood on Sunday, and the Inverness manager remains hopeful of signing trialist Lewis Horner.
He added: “The three substitutes who came on against Fleetwood will start against Birmingham. I gave everyone an hour on Sunday, so Nick Ross, Marley Watkins and Liam Polworth will all start at St Andrews.
“I want to be honest and fair with them, it’s another step up for us again, so we’ll see what we’re all about.”