Logan Chalmers knows Dundee United are watching his sizzling form in the Championship – but all he’s focused on is making this season special for Caley Thistle.
The impressive 22-year-old was hailed a “great signing” by ICT head coach Billy Dodds on Friday night after his winning goal delivered an enthralling 2-1 Championship win against leaders Kilmarnock.
Not only did that re-open the title chance for second-placed Arbroath, it secured a play-off position for the Highlanders with three games to spare.
The Red Lichties are now just one point behind Killie with two games remaining and they meet at Rugby Park this Friday.
What a night! 😍
Here's @loganchalmers7's winner against Kilmarnock last night! pic.twitter.com/MMhdqPc1Br
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 16, 2022
Forward Chalmers was brought to Inverness on loan in January as he craved much-needed game-time away from Premiership United.
Once he found his feet, he’s not looked back and he’s scored four goals in Inverness colours, including a spectacular late double to seal a 3-2 win at Raith Rovers last month.
Chalmers is under contract at Tannadice until 2024, having signed a deal extension last summer.
With United fourth in the Premiership and in the hunt for a European place, Chalmers will return at the end of the season clearly lifted by his Highland experience.
Chalmers only focused on Caley Jags
Right now though, Friday’s match-winner is looking no further ahead than helping Inverness win their final three fixtures, with basement side Queen of the South their hosts on Tuesday their next opponents.
He said: “Dundee United are always watching and sending scouts to games. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing on the pitch and the rest of the stuff will take care of itself.
“But I’m really enjoying it here, the way the gaffer, the boys and the staff have taken me in. It’s credit to the club. I am loving it here and hopefully we can do something special at the end of the season.
“We were not playing so well when I came in, but we always said after every hard game during that bad run one win was all we needed. We believed we would go on a strong run.
“We’re now five unbeaten, with four wins, so we have backed that up. The draw at Ayr was a bump in the road, but we didn’t lose it.
“On Friday, we’ve beaten the top team in the league. We believe in our own ability – if we play well, we fancy our chances against anyone in this league.”
Kilmarnock party put on ice by ICT
Around 1200 Killie fans were in the South Stand to roar their team towards the title.
When Ash Taylor shot them in front in the second half, they were on the brink of glory.
However, Caley Thistle responded with goals from Billy Mckay and Chalmers and United loanee said tunnel vision helped their cause.
He added: “Kilmarnock brought a lot of fans up here to try and push themselves closer to winning the league and have a bit of a party.
“However, we knew our incentive was to win and secure a play-off position. We just focused on ourselves and that’s what we will do again.
“On Tuesday we have another game, so let’s try and win that and see where we can end up.
“We want to finish as high up the league as possible. If we can finish second, that would be great as it won’t be as many play-off games, but the main thing is to go into these play-offs with a winning mentality.”
Goal mattered more as the winner
The confident forward, who is operating superbly well on the left side, has scored four goals in four games now, having bagged a screamer against Ayr United in the 2-2 draw last week.
Scoring in a winning match, he stressed, means much more.
He said: “What a win for the boys on Friday. It’s always a nice feeling to score.
“I scored last week against Ayr and we didn’t win the game – it meant nothing.
“On Friday, it did mean something because we’ve come away with three points. I am delighted.
“It doesn’t matter to me who scores, but we’ve managed to get the win.”
Belief grew after Mckay’s equaliser
When Mckay knocked in the leveller with 14 minutes to go, it seemed there would only be one winner and Chalmers got it six minutes later.
And he reckons the players stood up to the test and passed it with flying colours after a slow start.
He said: “You could see the belief in all the boys after we equalised. We were stepping forward and playing comfortably on the ball and moving it the way we can.
“In the first half, we didn’t play well. They scored in the second half and we knew we had to do better and we did that.”