Billy Dodds insists Caley Thistle cannot allow back-to-back defeats against Hamilton Accies to derail their Championship campaign.
Inverness suffered two defeats in the space of four days against the Lanarkshire outfit, whose haul took them off the foot of the table.
It has left the Highlanders five points adrift of the promotion play-off places, with 11 matches still to play.
The first of those comes on Saturday, when they make the trip to second-placed Dundee.
Despite the setback, Dodds insists Caley Jags still have time to force their way into the top four – but he insists they must put the wheels in motion quickly.
He said: “It’s frustrating, because we want to latch on and get right in amongst it.
“We could have gone within six points of Queen’s Park, but it hasn’t gone our way.
“It’s a setback, but we need to make sure we don’t lose confidence because of those defeats.
“We’ve got to get into the mindset of doing it now.
“We’ve got to give ourselves a lift and propel ourselves up the table, and build that momentum and confidence.
“We can’t think we’ll still have seven games to go and hopefully take 15 points from them – it doesn’t work like that.
“We’ve had chances to go above that, but we haven’t taken them because it’s a pressurised time of the season.
“We’ve got to do it now.”
Caley Jags at vital stage in ‘brutal’ Championship
Dodds has already admitted his side is now in a battle to secure a play-off place, given 12 points separate them from leaders Queen’s Park.
The Caley Jags boss says the upcoming weeks are vital in ensuring his side is in the right mix come the end of the season.
He added: “This league is brutal, in a good way.
“It’s so competitive whether you’re at the bottom or at the top, and that’s where we are just now.
“We had a real opportunity to put ourselves right in the mix, and now we’re fighting to get into those play-offs.
“That’s the thing that we can achieve that is realistic.
“We have to win games to do that, otherwise we’ll be looking the other way.
“We have to take points from the next few games, because we’re good enough and we’ve seen that with some of our performances.”
Performance level will bring results
The losses to Accies followed an excellent 3-0 triumph over Premiership side Livingston in the Scottish Cup.
That set up a quarter-final tie at home to Kilmarnock next month.
Dodds remains adamant Caley Jags’ performances have not dipped since the win at Almondvale, but he insists they must ensure they are sharper in both boxes.
He added: “I don’t think I have to galvanise them too much.
“I want them to do the same on Saturday as they did against Livingston and on Tuesday night against Hamilton – but take our chances when they come.
“If we do that, we’ll be fine.
“I’m not saying to the boys that we need better, I’m just telling them to take their chances and make sure we don’t switch off defensively.
“That’s all I’m saying – keep it going, and it will come if we do that. If we drop below that level, it won’t, but we’ll be just fine if we play the way we have been.
“You just get so frustrated with what you see at that vital moment sometimes – you can’t afford to give other teams a lift.
“In terms of performance level, my team aren’t playing poorly over the last four games. We’re just not getting the rewards we deserve, and that’s frustrating because it’s a crucial time of the season.”
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