Former Caley Thistle star Stuart Golabek hailed ton-up striker Billy Mckay – who is battling to beat his ex-team-mate Dennis Wyness in Inverness’ all-time goals list – and insists he must be kept at the Championship club this summer.
McKay’s double against Falkirk in the 3-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win against Falkirk in April took him to 100 Inverness goals.
He is now just one goal away from equalling the club-record tally set by Wyness over two spells between 1999 and 2008.
Mckay’s next game will be the Scottish Cup final against Celtic on June 3. The ex-Northern Ireland international, in his own third spell with ICT, is out of contract next month.
Mckay ‘has a good football brain’
Golabek explained why boss Billy Dodds must retain the marksman, who has 19 goals this term alone.
He said: “Billy is 34, but he’s proving to have a good bit of hunger in him. I’d say he’s still got another year or two still left in him.
“His body might have to adapt to the circumstances, because the body starts to slow down. But he’s got a good football brain, too, so he’s a real asset. You could even play him off a striker in a hole.
“Billy has been very loyal to Inverness. Yes, he got the transfer (to Wigan in 2015) and he’s been at Ross County, but being back at Inverness has been great for him.
“Inverness could not afford to lose Billy. This season alone, he has proven how important he is to the team with his goals record. He still seems to have plenty of life left in his legs. He leads the line very well.”
Wyness created so many of his goals
Former defender Golabek was thrilled to be part of an Inverness team with Wyness up top.
Golabek is well placed, therefore, to compare notes on highest-scoring duo Wyness and Mckay.
He said: “I know how good Dennis was. I wouldn’t go as far to say he was a natural goalscorer, but he created a lot of goals himself, with one-on-ones.
“Dennis could always create things, whereas Billy is more a natural finisher.
“Dennis lacked a little bit of pace, but his all-round game was maybe more complete, while Billy is more of an instinct finisher, who takes his chances early.
“They have both done well over different spells at the club and are two very good strikers Inverness have been fortunate to have.
“It doesn’t matter what league you play in, to score 100 goals or more is a terrific achievement.”
Six teams were in promotion chase
Partick Thistle, who finished fourth in the Championship, crushed third-placed Queen’s Park 8-3 on aggregate in last week’s play-off quarter-finals.
They will take on runners-up Ayr United over the next two Fridays for the right to tackle the Premiership’s 11th-placed team once the top league concludes at the end of the month.
Caley Thistle, meanwhile, finished sixth and are now preparing for their seventh successive season in the Championship.
Golabek added: “The longer you’re in the Championship, the harder it gets to get out of it.
“Clubs including Morton, Inverness, Queen’s Park, Partick Thistle and Ayr United will all have fancied their chances of being in the Premiership.
“Partick and Ayr still have that chance to follow (champions) Dundee with a promotion.
“In a perfect world, you’d go up as champions, but if you get at least make the play-offs, you give yourselves a chance.
“Inverness fell short in the final last year against St Johnstone, but when you get to the play-offs, it’s about who performs on the day.”
Golabek netted historic ICT goal
Golabek is in the history books as being the scorer of ICT’s first-ever Premiership goal in season 2004/05.
They had just been promoted to that level and suffered a 3-0 opening day defeat at Livingston.
However, in their temporary home base of Pittodrie while the Caledonian Stadium was being made Premiership-compliant, they bounced back in their second game to beat Dunfermline 2-0.
A 25-yard strike from Golabek put ICT ahead early on, before Juanjo sealed the deal for the happy Highlanders.
Once they found their feet, Inverness settled and, in their debut campaign, finished in a comfortable eighth position.
Golabek remembers the goal fondly and was thrilled that it helped put their first victory on the board against a decent Dunfermline side.
He said: “It was one of those where I caught it sweetly and it went in off the post, I think.
“Dunfermline were a good side and I remember it was a hot day. We won 2-0 and I was fortunate enough to score from 25 yards.
“I didn’t score many for Inverness, but I didn’t score many tap-ins – they tended to be long-range.
“We were ground-sharing with Aberdeen at that time, so there was plenty of travelling for us.
“That was a really good squad back then. We went on to have a good season once we got going.”
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