Josh Meekings reckons Caley Thistle’s younger players will be guided toward success by the older heads as the side continue their chase for promotion from the Championship.
The former Inverness defender, who lifted the Scottish Cup with the club in 2015, was delighted to see 18-year-old Ethan Cairns net the late leveller in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Morton.
It was a result which extended Caley Thistle’s run to five successive league games without defeat, and moved them to within one point of fourth spot.
Meekings believes the experienced stars will keep teenagers, such as Cairns, Lewis Nicolson, Robbie Thompson and Matthew Strachan on track as they gradually make the breakthrough at senior level.
He said: “It was great to see young Ethan Cairns come on and get his first goal against Morton.
“There is nothing wrong with putting the younger players on, while they still have that base of experienced players like Billy, Aaron, Sean Welsh, Mark Ridgers, Danny Devine and David Carson.
“They will all be influential as to how the rest of the season goes for Inverness – it’s a case of rallying the troops and getting them together.
“The lads who haven’t been through it before won’t understand how tough it can be, but the experienced players will help.
“Inverness have got a chance – it still there for them. It’s in their hands, especially if they defeat the teams in and around them.
“I know it has been three draws in a row for them in the league, but the key thing is they’ve not been losing and they’re still in there. That’s really important and keeps the momentum going.
“It’s been a difficult season for the club in terms of the injuries they’ve had to contend with, but the players who have come back are making the squad stronger, which helps at this stage.”
Cup shot is ‘free hit’ for Caley Thistle
This Saturday, Caley Thistle have a fifth-round Scottish Cup trip to in-form Premiership hosts Livingston to prepare for.
The tie came about on the back of Queen’s Park, who won 2-0 in Inverness in round four, being expelled from the competition last week for fielding ineligible player Euan Henderson.
Meekings explained this tie against the Lions really is a bonus match for Caley Thistle, where they have nothing to lose ahead of their league return against Hamilton seven days later.
He said: “The way this chance has come about is not their fault, so this is an opportunity for them.
“It gives them a little breather from the league, and they will see it as a free hit.
“They are the underdogs, which Inverness seem to have thrived on over the years. They will aim to put on a strong performance and show they are capable of competing with these sides again.
“You don’t get these opportunities often, so they’ll try and grab it with both hands.”
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Players will fight for every cause
Meekings insists Inverness will get a real lift from their unexpected reprieve in the cup and urged them to go all out to stun the Premiership’s fourth-placed team and secure a quarter-final spot.
He added: “The club has always prided itself on cup runs. Even during their time in the Championship, they reached a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden (a 3-0 loss against Hearts in 2019).
“They’ve been given another chance and they will want to take it, to try and cause an upset.
“This is a chance they were not expecting, and they must go and grab it.
“They beat Livingston at the start of the season in the League Cup.
“Of course, that’s the start of the campaign when clubs are just getting started and they don’t have all their players up to speed, but you just never know.
“It’s a one-off tie and the club has been there before.
“You don’t know what you’re going to get as players in these kinds of games.
“The players will go there and fight for every lost cause. There’s a quarter-final place up for grabs and I hope they can take a bit of a support down there.
“It would be good to see that and would be massive for the players.”
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