Barry Wilson insists Caley Thistle have every reason to believe they can deliver a fourth Scottish Cup knockout blow against overwhelming favourites Celtic this weekend.
The Inverness first-team coach scored in the 3-1 Parkhead triumph in February 2000 as Steve Paterson’s First Division shock-troops sunk John Barnes’ Hoops, which cost the ex-England star his job.
Martin O’Neill’s UEFA Cup final-bound Celtic, including Henrik Larsson, lost 1-0 at the Caledonian Stadium thanks to a Dennis Wyness goal in the 2003 quarter-finals.
And just eight years ago, John Hughes guided his team to a 3-2 extra-time win over Ronny Deila’s Glasgow giants, who would have won the treble had ICT not torn up the script.
Billy Dodds’ Championship side had a closed-door, in-house session at the weekend as they continued their preparations for Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Three cup triumphs over the Hoops
Wilson knows the odds are not in their favour, but he says that means nothing because it has been the case each time before ICT’s triumphs.
He said: “A club like Inverness is given no hope each time against Celtic.
“In the first game at Parkhead, we were given no chance. Three years later, we had no chance against the Celtic team which had just knocked Liverpool out of the UEFA Cup. In the semi-final in 2015 at Hampden, we were given no chance.
“I would doubt any other team in Scotland – bar Rangers – has put Celtic out of the Scottish Cup more than three occasions over the past 23 years.
“Our players have got to take something out of that. History has shown it can be done. The players just need to believe in themselves, otherwise just hand the Scottish Cup to Celtic.
“We believe it’s possible. Miracles – or certainly cup upsets – can and do happen.”
Mid-season slumps were too costly
For Inverness to be facing Celtic at least three times a season and not only on one-off occasions at Hampden, they need to get back to the top-flight for the first time since 2017.
Two lengthy slumps in league form over the past two years, allied with last term’s horrendously deep and long-lasting injury crisis, scuppered ICT’s promotion hopes.
In 2021-22, they were winless in 11 consecutive league matches, spanning from mid-December until March 12.
In the latest campaign, a 3-2 Scottish Cup victory over League Two visitors Stirling Albion was their only victory between the middle of October and January 2 when they thumped Cove Rangers 6-1. That stacked up to eight league fixtures.
In the end, they finished two points outside the top four and eight points behind league champions Dundee.
Wilson stressed they cannot afford any such slumps if they are to be top-of-the-three contenders a year from now.
He said: “We really need to put in a strong challenge from the start next season.
“We need to build some momentum.
“In the past two seasons, we have had periods of eight, nine or 10 games without a win. Two poor runs. You cannot afford that if you are going to be challenging for the title.
“You can pick points up and maybe sneak into the play-offs, but if you’re going for the title, you cannot afford these runs. We can’t allow that to happen.
“In 2021/22, we started the season well with a great run of results and that bought us a bit of time. It would be great to repeat that, but then not have those bad winless dips.
“Every team will obviously lose games, but after two or three games without a win, you must get back to winning ways to have a chance of winning the league.
“Also, hopefully we won’t face the same scenario with injuries. We need to always have the majority of our players to select from. You’re never going to have a fully fit squad every week.
“There were a good number of weeks where we only had half a squad.”
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