Former Caley Thistle interim manager Neil McCann reckons the Championship club’s young guns will be giving boss Billy Dodds food for thought.
A crop of young talent is waiting in the wings for their chance to break through at a time when nine senior stars are sidelined with injuries.
Such is the scale of the crisis, ICT recently played nine under-18s from the start and another five from the bench in a 2-0 SPFL Trust Trophy defeat against Championship rivals Hamilton at New Douglas Park.
Starlets such as defenders Matthew Strachan and Aaron Nicolson, midfielders Duncan Proudfoot and Keith Bray and forward Calum MacKay were among those who impressed and they hope Dodds might soon give them a shot at Championship level.
However, following Friday’s 5-1 defeat at Partick Thistle, ICT are seventh in the Championship ahead of next Monday’s home showdown against Cove Rangers, who are only two points behind them.
Banking league points matters, so careful consideration must be given as to when to play the youngsters.
‘Bravery’ needed to hand kids starts in Championship
McCann took over from John Robertson early in February 2021 until the enforced end of the 2020/21 season, with current boss Dodds serving under him as his first-team coach as Inverness rose from the lower reaches to fifth spot in a season cut short by the pandemic.
He keeps close tabs on Caley Thistle and he insists it’s not as easy call for a manager to take when kids are knocking on the door, but he believes Inverness’ current crop are showing up well.
He said: “As a manager, you just have to show bravery sometimes if a kid is doing well enough and he’s pushing.
“It goes hand in hand, though, because you want him pushing towards a strong team. It’s then not so tough for them to go in and make a mark.
“I spoke to Billy just before that Hamilton (SPFL Trust Trophy) game and I know (under-18s coach) Ryan Esson has got a big handle on the younger group and he did a lot of the work for that game, which was good.
“It was good to see the under-18s thrown in at the deep end for that tie, to see how they fared.
“Although Hamilton are one of the youngest sides themselves, they still had a lot more experience that Inverness did that day.
“They (Inverness) played well, though, and created a few chances and it was no embarrassment or disgrace they lost that game.
“A few of them looked comfortable in that arena, or environment, and should they be asked to step up to a more experienced level, I’m sure they will do themselves and the club justice.
“It’s nice to see kids getting the chance.”
Nurturing talent vital at Inverness
Former Dundee manager McCann, who starred as a winger for Scotland, Hearts and Rangers, insists bringing in youngsters in the hope they will flourish is part of the challenge of bossing Inverness.
He said: “In my time at Inverness with Billy, towards the latter stages of that season, we had Robbie Deas, Cammy Harper, Roddy MacGregor and Daniel MacKay, as well as Lewis Hyde, breaking through.
“There was a sprinkling of young guys there who showed they could do well if given the opportunity. It was fantastic.
“At Inverness, you can’t go and spend a lot of money to attract they very best from the west or east coasts of Scotland.
“More often than not, you have to fish in a pond towards the northern end of the country and hope you can nurture and develop players and get them into the first-team.”
Vast number of injuries taking toll
McCann has watched his friend Dodds battle for results and dip into the lower half of the Championship as the result of a brutal injury list this term.
With so many key men missing, such as Scott Allardice, Roddy MacGregor, Shane Sutherland, Tom Walsh and Austin Samuels, McCann feels Dodds has been tested to the max as the head coach.
He added: “Billy has been extremely hampered by injuries this season.
“It’s not just been the quality of players who have been out – it’s been the number of players he’s had unavailable.
“That’s not to put a slight on any other boys who have come in. Injuries always give opportunities to others, but there have been so many out it causes a real disruption to the team.
“It’s been hard and I know how hard it is anyway – it’s a tough division, which is so finely balanced. The budgets are pretty comparable throughout the division, barring one or two.
“As a manager, you would like to make changes due to tactics or the odd one due to someone being off-form or through injury, but having so many players out makes it so hard to get a rhythm into your side.”
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