Nathan Shaw says team spirit is central to Caley Thistle’s late promotion push in the Championship.
The 22-year-old signing from AFC Fylde last summer has repaid manager Billy Dodds for giving him more and more game time as the season has progressed.
The winger, who has also been used just behind striker Billy Mckay, has four goals in his last six games, but is a key creator for his team-mates.
Six successive wins has given the Caley Jags the chance to cut title-chasing visitors Dundee’s advantage to one point on Saturday.
Form ‘coming together at right time’
Shaw scored the equaliser in Tuesday’s 2-1 comeback win at Hamilton Accies and he’s loving being part of his side’s push for promotion.
He said: “We’ve got a great team spirit and the boys are all digging in for each other.
“We’ve come from behind a few times to win games, so maybe there’s a little bit of luck.
“Things have gone against us all season, but things are coming together at the right time.
“Obviously winning games helps that massively, but there’s been a great togetherness in the group all season.
“At the minute we’re probably getting what we deserve. We went through a tough run in the middle of the season, but things are coming together at the right time.
“From my point of view, I started off slowly, being in and out of the team, but now I’ve gone on a run of games and scoring and it couldn’t have gone much better.”
⚽ The goals from last night's 2-1 win against Hamilton Accies!
Goals from Nathan Shaw & Billy Mckay completed the comeback and earned us three points! 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/LVwG3mNuKK
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 19, 2023
No ICT panic after conceding first
Caley Thistle have recovered from the loss of opening goals against Cove Rangers and Hamilton to go on and win in recent games.
Shaw, who has nine goals overall this season, would welcome getting in front against Dundee this weekend, but said the last two matches show they still have the qualities to keep going when the chips are down.
🎟️ Tickets are available for Saturday's game against Dundee from https://t.co/6z5nBMnHgc
Further sections in the South Stand are now open for @DundeeFC Supporters
Match Info 👉 https://t.co/Vkq9yHARQd pic.twitter.com/B1NKLuFuhg
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) April 20, 2023
He added: “We know that if we do go 1-0 down, we’re not down and out by any means.
“We can always get a goal, and if we get one we can go on and get a winner.
“Getting a lead early on would be massive, because it changes games.
“It would be great if we did it, but there are no complaints here at the minute because we’re winning games the hard way.
“If we can keep doing that, who cares?”
ICT ready for title-chasing Taysiders
In this season’s head-to-head against title contenders Dundee, it’s one win apiece and a draw and Shaw sees no reason why this won’t be another close call.
He said: “It’s always a tough game against Dundee.
“We’ve had a good game with them at their place, and they’ve had a good game here, so it will be the same this week and hopefully we can come out on top.”
News for Saturday's massive game #ICTFC #S94 pic.twitter.com/4ktTy3bpyX
— Section 94 (@section_94) April 19, 2023
Another win is goal before semi-final
Once the dust settles on the Dundee game, the attention can turn fully to facing League One Falkirk in next Saturday’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
To go into that showdown for the right to be finalists against holders Rangers or Celtic on the back of a seventh straight win would be the perfect outcome for Shaw.
He added: “It would be a massive week for everyone – the players and the club.
“It would get us one step closer to getting promoted, and they’re both massive games, but we’ve got to knuckle down and work hard to get there.”
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