Forward Billy Mckay insists he’s putting Caley Thistle’s promotion push at the top of his mind – despite only legend Dennis Wyness now ahead of him in the club’s scoring charts.
Mckay’s goal in the 2-0 Championship win at Raith Rovers took him one goal ahead of Barry Wilson’s tally of 83 and he’s now 17 away from the 101 scored by Wyness over two spells in the Highlands.
Mckay, now in his third period at Inverness, knows if he gets close to the century then Caley Thistle will most likely be on the promotion course once more.
A big win on the road for the Caley Jags 🔴🔵#cinchChamp | @ICTFC pic.twitter.com/Yg0i9mtzxN
— SPFL (@spfl) September 5, 2022
They reached the play-off final last season after finishing third and Mckay will be looking to go one better this time.
Helping team is priority – Mckay
The 33-year-old explained being part of a winning team is what matters most right now.
He said: “I was delighted to score and, first and foremost, help the team.
“It’s great to be outright second (in the scoring charts) and hopefully I can add more goals to that tally.
“I’d love to get there (reach 101) as it would mean I’m doing the right things and scoring goals and helping the team. Ultimately, that’s what it’s about.
“It’s not something I’m going to think about daily. I’m going to try and keep ticking away and get as many goals as I can.
“Maybe one day I will be up there, but for now I want to help the team climb the league.”
Fitness levels can help clinch points
The victory at Kirkcaldy pushed ICT up to mid-table following successive league losses against Partick Thistle and Morton and a punishing 4-0 Premier Sports Cup defeat at Premiership hosts Motherwell last Wednesday.
Mckay, who was originally brought to the Highlands from Northampton Town in 2011, is also positive about the way the team rose to the challenge against Raith on the back of a tough week.
And he believes their fitness levels are so impressive, they can better many rivals in their league.
He said: “We had three games last week, so it was always going to be a physical test. The lads stood up to it against Raith Rovers.
“We’re a fit group and we’ve been unlucky with a lot of injuries and have been down to the bare bones.
“Our fitness showed on Saturday when we kept going when we got a late goal and could even have got another one.
“The boys pride ourselves on our fitness. We need to take that into games and, if we do that, we can blow people out of the water late in games.”
No side ICT should fear in division
With all SPFL weekend matches postponed due to the death of the Queen, ICT’s next scheduled fixture is next Saturday with the trip to third-placed Dundee.
And Mckay reckons there’s no reason why they should worry about going toe-to-toe with any side, given their qualities.
He said: “We feel we can match anyone, but we have to ensure we’re at it in every game.
“We have to ensure our attitude is right and, first and foremost, that our performance is right. If we do that, I feel we can always get a positive result.
“In the Morton game recently, we were not at our best and we got beat, so we have to be at our best in every game. If we do that, we believe we can beat anyone.”
Forward Mckay wants to go on run
The win away to Raith Rovers extended their unbeaten league run over the Fifers to 22 games over 22 years.
Mckay knows ICT need to keep building up wins to push up the Championship table.
He added: “In this league, it’s important to put little runs together. We managed that at times last season.
“When you’re not winning, you want to end that run as soon as possible. We did that against Raith and it would be great to kick on now and climb the table.
“We have to make our home ground a fortress again. We were disappointed to lose here against Morton here last time, so we want to turn that around.”
Scoring management boost Mckay
ICT head coach Billy Dodds and first-team coach Wilson were proven top-level scorers in their careers, with the manager also racking up 26 Scotland caps.
Mckay says their influence can help him, along with the experience he’s gathered throughout a career which has seen him play for Northern Ireland, Wigan, Dundee United and Ross County amid others.
The club is proud to announce that from this Saturday and for at least this season, the first team will carry the logo of the @ICTFC_Community Development Trust on our blue home shorts and also on our away turquoise shorts.
Full Story 👉 https://t.co/crLrgfcQhH pic.twitter.com/tO5mViCMPJ
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) September 8, 2022
He said: “Billy and Barry have been great with me since I came to the club. It has been good working with them and their goal numbers speak for themselves.
“I am experienced and I just want to use that experience to try and score as many goals as I can to help the lads. If I can do that, I’m a happy man.”
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