Caley Thistle manager John Hughes has warned his players must not be caught off-guard in today’s Premiership match against St Mirren.
Hughes was disappointed with the second-half performance in the 2-1 Scottish Cup win against Partick Thistle last week.
Inverness held a two-goal half-time lead against the Jags, but allowed the opposition to creep back into the game after the break through Lyle Taylor’s goal.
The Caley Jags are third in the Premiership, with Hughes having been awarded manager of the month for January after an unbeaten start to 2015.
But the manager has demanded standards do not slip and has urged his side to be more ruthless against the Buddies this afternoon.
Hughes said: “I said to the players on Thursday morning I’m not going to sit back and rest on my laurels. The second-half performance against Partick Thistle was not acceptable.
“We need to make sure that, no matter where we go, every team we play against knows they have been in a game.
“We’re three-quarters through the season and we need to make sure we don’t take our foot off the gas.
“We need to keep playing good football in the manner we’re renowned for. That’s why we get these accolades and I’d like to think a lot of it is down to the style of football.”
Saints are trying to secure their Premiership status for next season and are six points ahead of bottom-placed Ross County.
Inverness have no such worries but Hughes said the points mean just as much to his side, who are trying to remain in the top three with a victory in Paisley.
Hughes added: “At this time of the year we’ll be playing against teams that have recruited again in the window, such as St Mirren, who have brought in two or three new players.
“We’ll be playing against teams whose agenda is different from ours – they’re competing for survival.
“We’ve got our own agenda. We want to keep winning football matches.”