Battling spirit helped reverse Caley Thistle’s slump, says defender Danny Devine

By Paul Chalk

September 17 2022, 6:00 am

Caley Jags centre-half Danny Devine.

Defender Danny Devine hailed Caley Thistle’s mental toughness as they stopped a mini-slump to return to winning ways.

The experienced centre-half will be a key figure in Saturday’s Championship away day in Dundee, with ICT targeting three points which would see them overtake their third-placed opponents.

Inverness will go into this clash on the back of a 2-0 win at Raith Rovers a fortnight ago.

That stirring outcome followed back-to-back league losses against Partick Thistle and Morton and a 4-0 Premier Sports Cup defeat at Premiership side Motherwell.

ICTFC fans will be housed in the Bob Shankly stand at Kilmac Stadium this Saturday

There will be a cash turnstile open for the match for ICTFC supporters

Match Info 👉https://t.co/0PMMAEmCfZ pic.twitter.com/EEL0RlePnQ

— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) September 15, 2022

Devine explained how the squad stood strong and delivered a big result thanks to a Scott Allardice penalty and Billy Mckay strike late on at Kirkcaldy.

Poor form put to bed at Stark’s Park

When asked about the mental resilience shown by the team, he said: “It’s part of football, so I think it’s something that you definitely need individually and as a team.

“You need mental strength to put a bad performance or a bad result behind you as soon as possible, move on to the next game and try to put it right.

“That’s what we did against Raith, and hopefully we can carry that momentum on to Saturday.

“I’m looking forward to it – I think all the boys are.

“Coming off of a good away win at Raith, it would have been good to have another game, but we’re looking forward to getting back to action.”

Inverness defender Danny Devine in action against Arbroath.

Devine delighted to have trio back

Last weekend’s fixtures were postponed as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen, but the games were given the green light this week.

Defender Max Ram, winger Aaron Doran and striker Austin Samuels all return to the fold.

And Devine said last week’s call-off was not time wasted by the management and players as their match against Hamilton was shelved.

He said: “It would have been good to have another game to keep the momentum going, but it has given us a chance to work on stuff.

“We’ve had a few boys missing out here and there, so it’s good to get boys back in too.

“The Motherwell game wasn’t great for us, so we had to regroup and figure out areas we went wrong in.

“We were disappointed in ourselves in that game, because we usually give a good account of ourselves against Premiership teams.

“We put it right against Raith, and it’s looking good for Saturday.”

Harper one of many to fill ICT void

Devine, who recently returned to the team following a quad strain, admits a range of injuries throughout the pool has been challenging, but he praised his team-mates for filling the voids.

The 30-year-old added: “It’s been tough. There have been a few times where boys have had to fill in in other positions, like Cammy Harper playing in midfield away at Raith.

Cameron Harper can fill a variety of roles for Caley Thistle.

“I thought he did excellently, but that’s the way it has been going for us this season.

“Boys have been in and out of the team, and we know that can happen, that’s football, but we’re getting boys back now and hopefully we can keep everyone fit for a good run of games to build that momentum, team spirit and continuity.”

Dundee displayed recovery powers

Weekend opponents Dundee, who dropped down from the Premiership in May, now have Gary Bowyer in charge.

An opening afternoon 3-2 loss against Partick Thistle was not their ideal start, but they’ve responded overall and are four points away from surprise front-runners Ayr United.

Northern Irishman Devine notes that the Dark Blues have also shown resilience, but feels Caley Thistle have enough quality to ask big questions at Dens Park.