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Caley Thistle on the up as star men make return from injuries, says boss Billy Dodds

Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds. Image: SNS Group
Caley Thistle head coach Billy Dodds. Image: SNS Group

Manager Billy Dodds believes a bolstered squad is the key reason why Caley Thistle are making a steady climb up the Championship table.

The return of captain Sean Welsh going into the New Year has been followed by midfielders Cammy Harper and Scott Allardice being back in the team over the past week.

On Saturday, fifth-placed ICT host Dougie Imrie’s Morton, who are winless in their last seven games in all competitions.

However, the Ton are only one place and one point behind Inverness, so there’s pressure on Caley Thistle to extend their league run to five successive league games without defeat by netted a win.

More players on the way back for ICT

Head coach Dodds, whose team have drawn with Queen’s Park and Raith Rovers in their last two league outings, feels having players back from injury is having a telling impact.

The run began with sweeping victories against Cove Rangers and Arbroath and Dodds is satisfied with the quality of his player pool.

He said: “It doesn’t take a lot to work out since we got our players back, we have scored good results.

“We would have liked to have won all four. We drew hard games against Raith Rovers and Queen’s Park and we won the other two against Cove and Arbroath.

“We’ve got players back and are getting results, and we have a few more on the verge of coming back.

“I’m really happy with the squad, with players coming back, and if we could get them all back, I would be delighted.”

Scott Allardice made a welcome Caley Thistle return from injury against Raith Rovers last week. Image: SNS Group

Sharpening up in competitive games

Some players still sidelined include midfielder Roddy MacGregor and strikers Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels, although they are getting closer.

Dodds, who is still “actively looking” to bring in another loan player this month, explained those who are back in the side must be carefully managed to ensure they get up to speed in the best way.

He said: “I hope they have an edge, but it can work the other way. I need to get them fit. They come back and give you a burst, but there is a fitness issue. We will work on that, but you need to get the match fitness in somehow.

Cameron Harper played 45 minutes of Tuesday’s Scottish Cup tie against Queen’s Park. Image: SNS Group

“We need to get the first-team competitive edge into them. It was great to get Cameron Harper 45 minutes and Scott Allardice an hour on Tuesday.

“It is about doing the same with the other boys and also about judging who you put in and when to put them back. Their adrenaline will be running, but they will have a dip on top of that.”

Caley Thistle await Scottish Cup fate

Caley Thistle will find out on Friday whether they are to be reinstated into the Scottish Cup.

They lost 2-0 to Queen’s Park in Tuesday’s fourth-round tie at Inverness, which put the table-topping Spiders into a showdown next weekend at Premiership Livingston.

However, the Glasgow side face a SFA hearing over a charge that they played on-loan Hearts forward Euan Henderson when he was not eligible to feature.

He was signed after the original game was postponed 10 days previously, which breaches competition rule 12.5. Expulsion is a real possibility, with Brechin City suffering that fate in similar circumstances in 2008.

On-loan Hearts forward Euan Henderson was a threat for Queen’s Park against Inverness on Tuesday. Images: SNS Group

Dodds would not be drawn on the situation and stressed it’s just a waiting game, but Morton is all he’s been focused on.

He added: “The Scottish FA make the decision on Friday, so both clubs just need to sit back and await the outcome.

“Our full concentration is on the Morton game. I heard about the situation a couple of hours after the game, but then I switched off from it.

“The hearing has been set and we will just sit and wait. We can’t take it any other way.”

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