Every fixture has cup final feel for Caley Thistle, says Cammy Harper

Cammy Harper reckons Caley Thistle could contest seven cup finals this season – but the first six are all played for key Championship points.

The midfielder, who has dipped back to cover in defence in recent weeks including in wins against Partick Thistle and Morton, is ready to face Raith Rovers and Arbroath on Saturday and Tuesday respectively.

Inverness hope to see off Falkirk in the Scottish Cup semis on April 29 for the right to face Celtic or Rangers in the Hampden silverware showdown next month.

Before then, ICT have six league games where they must bag as many wins as possible to try and catch fourth-placed Ayr United and nick into the play-offs.

Partick’s stunning 4-0 Friday night win against faltering table-toppers Queen’s Park means Ayr are the team Inverness have their sights set on.

The Honest Men, who host Morton on Saturday, are seven points ahead of the Caley Jags and have played one match more.

It’s sixth versus seventh on Saturday as Raith Rovers head north.

Every game is massive for Inverness

And keeping their strong form going is very much at the forefront of players’ minds, according to Harper.

He said: “It’s probably six finals now – we have to be like that.

“If we keep it in our own hands, it’s just about trying not to have any slip-ups to be relying on other results.

“You look at our last five results, and we’ve had four wins.

“Even from the outside, you can see that we’re clicking. You get injuries in football, maybe not always to the extent that we’ve had them, but things are better now.

“Saturday is still a must-win game, like they all will be before the end of the season, so we’re looking forward to it.

“We have the chance to put a wee bit of a gap between us and Raith, which would be massive for making into the play-offs.

“We know it’s a crucial part of the season, and we know what we need to do to get into the play-offs – basically win every game.

“We’ve shown in the past the run we can go on, so we’re quietly confident in ourselves.”

Raith Rovers are ‘good passing team’

ICT, who were pipped by Premiership St Johnstone in last May’s play-off final, face a Rovers side one place and one point behind after their surprise 2-1 defeat against Hamilton on Tuesday.

Harper insists Rovers, who also recently lost the Challenge Cup final to Accies, still have players capable of causing them problems this weekend.

He added: “Raith are a good passing team that move you into dangerous areas.

“Aidan Connolly has had a good season scoring goals, and Lewis Vaughan too.

“We’ve played them so many times now, so we’ll have to be wary but all we can focus on is getting three points any way we can.

“We know they’re a good passing team, they pull you into dangerous areas and they have good forward players.

“We just need to make sure we’re sharp defensively, like we were against Morton, and have that bit of steeliness in our minds to not concede and give ourselves the best chance of winning the game.”

Harper still in hunt for more goals

Harper has bagged six goals this season, including a League Cup brace against Albion Rovers in the League Cup in July.

His recent shift back to defence limits his threat in opponents’ boxes, but he’s still keen to follow the lead of right-back David Carson, who netted the winner against Morton last week.

He said: “When I was on a scoring run earlier this season, I would probably have wished I’d have more by this point in the season.

“Going back to left-back maybe reduces my chances of scoring, so if I was to get some goals at the weekend I’d be delighted.

“David Carson doesn’t get many – I think that’s two for the club he has now – but we were all buzzing when he scored.

“I wouldn’t mind popping up with a few more myself before the end of the season.”

Long record is not in players’ minds

Amazingly, Inverness have not lost a league game against Raith since October 2000, which was 25 fixtures ago.

Although it’s a quirky record, Harper says the players are only focused on winning the match right in front of them.

He said: “To be honest, you don’t really think about it.

“I know it’s such a long record where they haven’t beaten us, but even in the game down there last time it’s not ever really in our minds. We just want to win the game.”

So far this season, the sides have drawn once each in Inverness and Kirkcaldy, with ICT winning 2-0 at Stark’s Park in September thanks to goals from Scott Allardice and Billy Mckay.