Caley Thistle midfielder Ryan Christie knows how difficult it will be to reclaim his place in the starting line-up when Inverness host Motherwell on Saturday.
Christie has not started a match since he was sent off in the Caley Jags’ 1-0 win against St Mirren on October 18.
Although Christie had to watch from the sidelines when suspended for the following week’s 1-0 win against Dundee United, he was then left on the bench in the narrow defeat against champions Celtic and the victory against Hamilton.
With James Vincent having impressed since coming into the team, Christie knows winning his place back in John Hughes’ side will be no easy task.
Christie said: “My aim is to get back in. It’s important to keep training as well as possible and hopefully I’ll be in the manager’s thoughts for Saturday.
“Seeing how well the team did in that game against Dundee United was really good, it spurred me on as I knew I had to work hard to get back into the team.
“Competition for places in the changing room will always be a healthy thing. Everybody is trying to play at the top of their game. So I wasn’t too frustrated because I knew I would have to bide my time to get back in.”
Christie was a 72nd-minute substitute for Scotland under-21s in the 1-1 friendly draw against Switzerland on Tuesday, having made his debut against Luxembourg earlier in the season.
Despite the departure of manager Billy Stark earlier in the month, Christie is determined to become a regular fixture in the under-21 side.
The 19-year-old has also taken great encouragement from Scotland manager Gordon Strachan’s recent policy of calling youngsters into the senior squad.
Christie added: “Making my debut for Scotland under-21s was a real high in my career, just to play and train with players such as Ryan Gauld and Stevie May.
“They have moved on to pretty big clubs and are still doing well there. It’s good to play with them and even just talk to them.
“Gordon Strachan is showing he’s not scared to put youngsters into his squad, with Lewis Macleod getting into the latest squad.
“It shows that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, or what team you’re playing for, he’s looking at you.
“It’s always great experience to play against these other countries and to play international football. It can really improve your game.”