Jim McIntyre has challenged Cove Rangers to find their consistency ahead of the visit of promotion-chasing Caley Thistle.
Cove were well-beaten last Saturday in a 3-0 defeat at Raith Rovers, bringing their four-game unbeaten run to an abrupt halt.
They come up against an Inverness side who have put together an impressive run, winning their last four games which included victories over the top two Ayr United and Partick Thistle.
Caley Thistle triumphed 4-1 when the two sides met in August, and McIntyre feels they are a more complete side two months down the line.
“Our form on the road has not been good enough but at home we’ve been very good,” said McIntyre. “We want to try continue that.
“We’re coming up against a team playing with confidence. Equally, so were we until last weekend and we need to put that performance to bed.
“Sometimes it’s easy to consign a game like that to history, but we need to learn from the reasons why we weren’t at it.
“We need to have everyone playing at their peak. We need to make sure our structure is good when we’ve not got the ball.”
McIntyre puts the disparity between Cove’s home and away form – they have only picked up one point on the road – down to inconsistency. But the unpredictability of the league has to be taken into account.
“We know what this division is like,” he added. “It’s the team that shows consistency which will be there or thereabouts.
“We’ve not got the squad depth of the top-six clubs and that sometimes results in inconsistency. That’s something we need to keep working on.”
Cove are unlikely to be able to call on the services of midfielder Fraser Fyvie again, after he missed the last four games with a hamstring issue. Jamie Masson is also touch and go with a rib problem, but Max Johnston (groin) could be fit.
“Fraser has been doing a bit of work, but is still not quite there yet,” said McIntyre. “The game will probably be too soon for him.
“With Jamie it’s the same, with his ribs. It’s just about timing and how his breathing feels.
“Max had to come off at half-time against Raith, but we’re hopeful he’ll be OK.”
Kyle McClelland is looking at six-to-eight weeks out with an ankle injury.