Caley Thistle captain Graeme Shinnie believes the fact his side is playing competitive football right up until their Scottish Cup final against Falkirk has given them an advantage on the Bairns.
Inverness’ Scottish Premiership campaign comes to an end against Celtic at Parkhead on Sunday, just six days before their Hampden Park showpiece against the Bairns.
By contrast, Falkirk’s last Championship game was their 3-0 defeat against Hibs on May 2, meaning Peter Houston’s side will have gone nearly a month without a competitive fixture by the time they kick off against Caley Jags.
Shinnie is in no doubt which build-up he would prefer and, after clinching third place with three straight victories, the defender is eager to keep the momentum going into the final.
Shinnie said: “I’d rather be still playing games. I don’t know what Falkirk’s preparations will be but this is a time when maybe they’d like to be on their summer holidays.
“They would be going abroad at this time, so it won’t feel like they will really have had a break. I’d rather continue playing games, training hard and keeping our minds on the football.
“We have competitive games which probably helps. It is about the preparations but when it comes to the final I think it will still be down to the teams on the day.
“They will have a couple of bounce games, while we have Celtic, so it might give us a slight advantage, but not too much.
“It has been good for us to keep up the momentum. Getting into Europe was a huge confidence boost and then we kept it going against Dundee United.
“We had a bit of a dip in form but the league table doesn’t lie. Even though we haven’t won as much since the turn of the year, we’ve only lost four times.
“The overall play has been good throughout and we knew the results would come our way.”
The cup final will be Shinnie’s final game for Inverness, with the 23-year-old having signed a pre-contract with hometown club Aberdeen.
Caley Jags’ 3-0 win against Dundee United on Saturday was Shinnie’s last home game for the club, with the left back determined to bow out by leading the Highlanders to their first major silverware.
Shinnie added: “I’ll be happy as long as we win it. It was emotional on Saturday in my last game at Caledonian Stadium. The supporters gave me a great reception.
“The cup final is all about lifting the trophy and finishing with happy memories.”