Barry Wilson is urging a clutch of Caley Thistle starlets to be inspired by the emerging success of young gun Roddy MacGregor as they head for stints in the Highland League.
The Championship club have given a group of six the freedom to show what they’ve learned at the Caledonian Stadium by going on loan to HFL sides until January.
Defender Ryan Fyffe, 20, was the first to get a move as he joined Ronnie Sharp’s Nairn County.
And this week, five players, who signed professional deals this summer, secured mirror agreements in the same division until the New Year.
Neighbouring club Clach have taken in defender Lewis Nicolson and midfielder Robbie Thompson, while Brora Rangers have secured the services of midfielder Harry Hennem and winger Aly Riddle. All four are aged 17.
Strathspey Thistle, who play Clach at Grant Street on Friday night, also benefited as they landed 16-year-old striker Ethan Cairns.
The youngsters will be looking towards the impact made by 19-year-old MacGregor, who only last weekend lashed home a wonderful winner in the Championship to sink Raith Rovers 1-0.
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Roddy MacGregor's two league goals for ICTFC have been quite special! pic.twitter.com/2zObQJybWY
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 11, 2021
First-team coach Wilson, who has helped develop the youngsters, advises the teenagers to take note of the hard work shown by attacking midfielder MacGregor, who gained a Scotland under-21 call-up this year.
He said: “Roddy’s goal and performance should inspire these players and I’m sure it will. They can maybe look at that and see that perhaps a year down the line or so that could be them.
“Roddy has worked hard and been in and around the first-team for two or three seasons now. Last year, he played a big part in the squad. The year before, he made his breakthrough, but was on the bench when he was 16 or 17 as well.
“His goal on Saturday was brilliant. He has been maligned at times within the club for his finishing, but it was a tremendous finish and we were all delighted for the wee man because his attitude is first class.”
MacGregor’s confidence on the rise
Wilson believes that MacGregor’s self-belief is only going to soar on the back of producing big moments like that consistently.
He added: “He is getting more confident as every game passes. He realises he is a big part of the squad. That’s huge.
“You don’t get a natural confidence until you’re maybe 21 or 22 and you’ve played between 50 and 100 games for the club. You’re always looking to improve yourself and with that comes pressure from yourself.
“Roddy has got over that now as we saw on Saturday.”
Keeping tabs on youngsters’ progress
Looking at the loanees and the opportunities granted to them at Nairn, Clach, Brora and Strathspey, Wilson feels the time is right for them to mix it in the men’s game.
He added: “We felt it was now better for their development to now go and play against men in real competitive football compared to playing under-18s every Friday afternoon. Hopefully they will go and do themselves justice in the Highland League.
🤝 Inverness Caledonian Thistle can confirm that Ethan Cairns has joined Highland League side @JagsStfc on loan until January.
Best of luck Ethan 🔴🔵
👉 https://t.co/SNwRaYeQJz pic.twitter.com/IuZAxhxXfO
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) August 10, 2021
“The players know they will need to earn their place in the teams and I’m sure they will do that. We’ll keep an eye on all their progress.
“Clach and Strathspey are playing on Friday, so hopefully we can see how Lewis and Robbie at Clach and Ethan at Strathspey will start off.
Wilson explained the impact of Covid had a knock-on effect in terms of stalling the young players’ progress last season, but the signs this summer have been encouraging.
He said: “We felt, after last year being a non-event for these players, it was so important that they played games this year.
“The five who has started full-time this year have been brilliant. They have integrated with the first-team squad really well.
“They were involved in a lot of the pre-season friendlies and they have shown they can play at that level.”