Caley Thistle boss Billy Dodds admits the injury crisis is showing after seeing his side slip to a 2-1 Championship loss at Queen’s Park.
Billy Mckay shot ICT in front in the first half, but Charlie Fox’s header restored parity early in the second period.
Simon Murray netted his ninth goal of the season to take the Spiders into fourth position, nudging ICT down to sixth below Raith Rovers.
It also means they trail leaders Ayr United by six points before next weekend meeting between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium.
ICT have eight regulars sidelined with injury right now and the boss concedes that’s having an impact.
He said: “Queen’s Park were good tonight but we gave them a helping hand with the goals.
“Everything we did in the first half, we stopped doing in the second half. Their extra man in the middle of the park gave us a wee problem.
“They had the better of the second half but after they got the equaliser, we kind of matched them up and it helped us. We got two or three chances after that.
“But then they scored again and it was an uphill task. We created one really good chance when Billy was inches away from an equaliser but Queen’s Park were right at it.
“We just fell short in terms of squad personnel. It’s not excuses, it’s factual.”
Queen’s Park manager Owen Coyle, meanwhile, was thrilled his team got the rewards for an front-foot display, which edged them into a play-off spot, although stressed the Glasgow club are looking longer-term.
He said: “I thought we were terrific in the first half. We had 79 per cent possession in the first half but it was possession without penetration is nothing
“Simon Murray had a great chance to score at 0-0 and I thought we should have had a penalty after 20 seconds.
“The important thing is we continue to keep playing in the manner from which we want to build.
“I am used to trying to win games every week, but it is about the bigger picture. It’s not about the here and now.
“We are trying to build something here, that people want to come and watch. The football is getting better because the players are taking on board what we’re saying.
“We stepped it up even further in the second half. It was an outstanding performance and it would have been a travesty had we not won. Had we not, I’d still be saying the same things.”
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