Aaron Doran insists Caley Thistle want to show they are a match for any Championship rival – by toppling Kilmarnock from the summit on Friday.
The mouthwatering showdown at the Caledonian Stadium is live on BBC Scotland and ICT have the chance to turn a one-point deficit into a two-point lead against Killie.
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Raith Rovers, who are level first on points, travel to fellow promotion contenders Arbroath on Saturday, so the Caley Jags can turn the heat on all of them by netting three points.
Doran determined to see off Killie
Despite winning just one of their last eight games in all competitions, the football has been positive, but without a killer touch by and large.
Wide midfielder Doran sees no reason why the hosts should fear a team they’ve already beaten.
He said: “We don’t fear anyone in this league. We’re on our home patch and we’ve already beaten Kilmarnock.
“We’re going to go out there confident. We want to be sitting at the top of the league come the weekend.
“Two wins over Kilmarnock might give us a bit of psychological edge. They are favourites, but we don’t fear anybody in this league.
“When we play to the level we know we can, we’re a good match for anybody.
“We’re really confident coming off the win at Queen of the South (two weeks ago) and we just need to bring the same performance and work-rate.”
Support rally call to help Mckay
Billy Mckay reached 10 goals for the season in last weekend’s 1-1 Scottish Cup third round draw against Morton.
Doran, who has two goals so far this term, is determined to chip in and said the in-form striker is already on his case.
He said: “It was a good win away to Queen of the South last time in the league. Performances before that were really good.
“We haven’t been hitting the back of the net often enough and the players behind Billy Mckay need to help him out.
“I’ve got two goals so far and I need to be aiming to get double figures by the end of the season.
“Billy is on double figures now, but we all want to help him. All of the attacking players want to create and score goals. We all need to start pushing on.
“Billy was just giving me a bit of stick earlier saying I hadn’t scored enough.
“I’ve had pretty good chances in the last four or five games that I haven’t taken, so I need to rectify that.”
Competition for place at Inverness
ICT, who face Morton at Cappielow on Tuesday in their Scottish Cup replay, were knocked out of the SPFL Trust Trophy 5-4 on penalties after a goalless draw with Raith Rovers.
There were six changes between these two games this week and Doran, who played the last 13 minutes, felt the team were unlucky not to get the job done before the shoot-out heartache.
He added: “There’s a lot of competition right now for places.
“The lads who did brilliantly the other night all want to start games. Everyone is pushing everyone and the lads who play tomorrow night need to put a shift in because there are people in the background wanting to take their place.
“That’s always good for the team. Hopefully the 11 who do start can put in a good performance and get the win.”
All battling to win Championship
Killie went further than ICT by making 10 changes for their last-gasp 3-2 SPFL Trust Trophy victory at Hamilton on Tuesday.
Doran, however, is confident Billy Dodds has got good enough cover to stay in the title chase.
He said: “The manager wanted two players for every position when he came in. There are a lot of good players who haven’t been playing enough. They want the positions.
“It is only going to help us because we all want to win this Championship. We’re all fighting and hopefully we’re going to put in a good shift.”