Winger Nathan Shaw warns rivals Caley Thistle have not yet hit peak form

By Paul Chalk

November 7 2022, 6:00 am

Nathan Shaw tucks away his goal for Caley Thistle against Arbroath. Image: SNS

Nathan Shaw believes Caley Thistle are perfectly placed for a Championship title bid as they’re going to be bolstered by fit-again players.

The 21-year-old winger netted the opener in the 1-1 draw against Arbroath on Saturday, only for ex-Inverurie Locos ace Kieran Shanks to level after a defensive mistake.

Although Inverness could have gone second with a win, a point keeps them only three points away from front-runners Ayr United, who drew 1-1 with Morton.

They head to Stenhousemuir to face Queen’s Park on Saturday, with eight players still sidelined through injury.

52' | 1-0

GOALLLLLLLL! NATHAN SHAW OPENS THE SCORING! pic.twitter.com/5STVdu4yd7

— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) November 5, 2022

Defenders Danny Devine and Robbie Deas, midfielders Roddy MacGregor and Scott Allardice, wingers Tom Walsh and Dan MacKay and strikers Austin Samuels and Shane Sutherland are all on the current casualty list.

Shaw keen for Inverness to improve

And that offers Shaw reasons to believe that the Highland side have yet to peak.

He said: “Sitting three points off the top is not a bad place to be after the first week in November.

“I think we’re only going to get stronger as the season goes on with players coming back fit.

“We’re in a good place, but hopefully we can improve further and aim for the top spot.

“We’re confident as a group at this club. We are a good team, but we just need to show it.

Nathan Shaw, right, celebrates with George Oakley after putting ICT 1-0 ahead against Arbroath.

“We want to show people how good we are and see where it takes us.

“The aim would be to try and win the league and go up automatically. That would be great, but then again, if we do it through the play-offs it doesn’t matter.

“As long as we go up to the Premiership, that’s what we’re after.”

Lapse in concentration proved costly

And Shaw had mixed feelings after hitting the net, only for Arbroath to bite back for a share of the spoils.

He said: “Personally, it was good to get on the scoresheet, but we didn’t get the three points, which is what we were hoping for. We will go again next weekend against Queen’s Park.

“I felt it was a decent enough performance as we aimed for the three points.

Caley Jags manager Billy Dodds urges his side on against Arbroath.

“There were a few critical moments in the game where we had the chances to go 2-0 up. Had that happened, I think we would have come away with the win,

“We had a lapse in concentration and Arbroath got their goal and I’d say we were hanging on a bit for the last 15 minutes. They were throwing bodies forward.”