Sean Welsh reckons the best way for Caley Thistle to stop Kilmarnock hot-shots Kyle Lafferty and Oli Shaw is to display their own attacking qualities in Friday’s Championship showdown.
The Inverness captain scored a wonderful winner when the sides last met at the Caledonian Stadium in December.
It was the second time ICT had beaten Killie this term – although after manager Derek McInnes replaced Tommy Wright, the Ayrshire men hit back with a 1-0 win at Rugby Park in January.
Killie are four points clear at the top, with three games to go, while ICT know three points from their last four fixtures will secure a play-off spot.
Second-placed Arbroath will hope for a favour ahead of their home clash with Queen of the South on Saturday and Welsh knows Lafferty and Shaw will be key threats if ICT are to succeed.
They both scored in the 2-0 win over Dunfermline on Saturday, with ex-Ross County forward Shaw now on 14 for the season, and January capture Lafferty, back at the club, has nine goals to his name.
Caley Thistle aim to pin back Killie
So, while Welsh and his team-mates will have to keep a close check on the duo, he feels pressing their own game forward can yield rewards.
He said: “Everyone knew when Kilmarnock signed Kyle in January he’d be there to help them push for the title and his quality has shone through.
“We have to ensure we keep him quiet and the best way to do that is attack, push on and keep them on the back foot.
“We’re confident we can implement our style on them, to push them back, although we know we can’t take our eyes off them for a moment because they are dangerous.”
And, with 10 goals in the last four ICT games, the skipper reckons they’ve enough menace up top to trouble Killie.
He added: “We have been scoring some really good goals of late.
“When we had our bad run, the goals dried up, but that has returned and everyone is chipping in from different angles.
“I’m sure Kilmarnock will be well aware we can score goals, too, so we will be positive and try to win the game by putting them on the back foot. That is how we will approach it.”
Going all out to secure top-four spot
While Killie can close in on the title with a win, a victory for the hosts will seal a promotion play-off place with three games to spare.
Welsh insists the incentives are huge as they seek to finish as strongly as they can.
He said: “We know one more win secures the play-off position, so that’s what we will be looking to do.
“We know it will be a difficult challenge as they look to get another win under their belts to get the title secured.
“It’s easy to get yourself up for big games like this, on the TV on a Friday night. We will be ready for it as we look to extend our unbeaten run to four matches.”
Welsh ready for final season push
Welsh, who joined Inverness in 2018, is reasonably happy to have stacked up 31 appearances for ICT this term as the club target promotion.
He added: “I have managed to get a good number of games under my belt this season.
“It has been a bit frustrating at times, but overall I am happy with the number of games I’ve played and the contribution I’ve made, although there is still a major part of the season to go in terms of what’s at stake.
“I’ve got to keep pushing to ensure I’m doing the right things for the team and to try and push us on.”
Ayr draw was disappointing – Welsh
Caley Thistle saw a 2-0 lead at Ayr United slip as they drew 2-2 last weekend, which came on the back of wins over Arbroath, Raith and Dunfermline.
He said: “It was disappointing not to come away with three points considering how comfortable we were at half-time, but that’s what can happen in this league.
“However, we have to do better. We have to be professional and see out games better. I think we need to be more ruthless, which will lead to improved results.
“We said at half-time, the next goal would be crucial. A third one would have killed Ayr off, but if they scored the fans would get right behind them and it allows them back into it.
“We knew they would have a go and it was a case of trying to weather the storm early in the second half and then get the third goal, but unfortunately we couldn’t do that and it gave them the lift they needed.
“On the positive side, though, we’re four games unbeaten and we’ve got to keep the momentum going on Friday.”
After Friday, ICT face away trips to Queen of the South on Tuesday then Morton a week on Saturday, while Killie and Arbroath meet at Rugby Park next Friday on the night the title could be decided.