Zak Delaney insists Caley Thistle need to go back to basics in order to rediscover their winning form in the Championship.
Defeats against Hamilton and Morton and a draw against Raith Rovers in between have seen a mini-slide for injury-hit Inverness, who have eight players sidelined and a few others with niggles.
Haphazard defending helped Morton surge to a 4-0 win against ICT last week, but a recent five-fixture winning stretch took the Highlanders top, built on stout defending and nicking winners.
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Inverness, who trail leaders Ayr United by three points, host bottom side Arbroath on Saturday afternoon as they aim to stay in the chase on matchday 14.
Defending must be better – Delaney
The left-back, 20, snapped up from West Brom in July, explained how the squad are determined to focus on the strengths which has given them their best results.
He said: “It’s hard going three without winning, but we’ve played well in a lot of spells in those matches.
“We lost 4-0 on Friday, but I still think we got on the ball really well. We conceded poor goals, which wasn’t like us. We’ve kept a number of clean sheets and defending well at the back.
“We conceded terrible goals at terrible times, but you just need to park it and focus on Saturday and try to get a result.
“After losing 4-1 to Partick Thistle at Firhill in August, we regrouped and went back to basics.
“It’s tough and we’re down a few bodies, but we’ve just gone back to working really hard and hopefully we can go on and get a result.”
Arbroath will fight for away result
August’s meeting with Arbroath at Gayfield ended 0-0 and Delaney is sure, despite their lowly position, Dick Campbell’s Angus side will provide a testing 90 minutes.
He said: “We’ve played Arbroath already and we know how tough it will be, although it will be a bit different playing them at home.
“They’re down at the bottom, but any side can beat another in this league. They’re dogged, they’ll fight and come and defend, so we need to be on our game.
“We just need to pass and move it to open a few gaps and hopefully get the breakthrough.”
Full-back fancies forward push
The Irishman can play at the heart of the defence, but has played on the left since Cammy Harper has moved into midfield.
Delaney is at ease there and wants to add a more attacking side to his play when he can.
He added: “I do enjoy playing left-back. When I go forward, I can help out a little bit. I need to push myself to get up there a bit more.
“On the defensive side, I enjoy the one v ones and being physical. I’ve played a lot in that position over the last few years, so I enjoy it.”
Learning league lessons every week
Delaney, who was on loan at Bath City last term, is keen to learn from every match as he settles into the second-tier of Scottish football.
He said: “The Championship is a step up for me, the quality is better compared to the Conference.
“I’m looking around at some boys who have played in the Premiership and they’re top players.
“We just try and test ourselves and do well each week. I’m learning about different opponents from different teams.
“Each game is different, but you need to go out with the same mindset each time.”
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