Darren Dods believes Caley Thistle risk being cut adrift and could end up locked in a Championship basement battle with Morton if they don’t reel in rivals above them soon.
The former ICT defender played with ICT for three seasons in the top-flight from 2004-2007.
And the 48-year-old would love to see his old club return to those levels, having been stuck in the Championship since their relegation six years ago.
A tough start to the campaign and exiting the Viaplay Cup and SPFL Trust Trophy early on led to Billy Dodds being replaced by Duncan Ferguson in the Inverness hotseat last month.
Four points secured thanks to a win at Arbroath and draw with Partick Thistle have moved them off the foot of the table – just ahead of Morton on goal difference.
Ton and ICT, whose Cappielow fixture was postponed at the weekend, are six points behind Queen’s Park and Dunfermline Athletic after their first eight games.
Time for Inverness to slice six-point gap on rivals
Fourth-placed Airdrie head to the Highlands this Saturday and Dods thinks the north team must make up ground on the Pars and Spiders above them as quickly as possible.
He said: “While it’s still quite early, you don’t want to be cast adrift at the bottom.
“Inverness want to pull as many teams towards the pack and then try to move towards mid-table. Two or three wins can make a massive difference.
“Morton had some decent results in the Viaplay Cup (before losing 2-1 to Rangers in the second round) and would have been confident going into the league season, but they have got off to a slow start.
“Queen’s Park, who were Championship runners-up last year, would have wanted to kick on, but they have been up and down. Airdrie got off to a good start, but have dropped a few points recently.
“At the top, Raith Rovers got off to a great start and now Dundee United are up there now and looking strong. They are four points clear of Raith at the top, but have played one more game.
“With the size of squad they have. Dundee United should be the team to finish top. They will drop the least points.”
🔜 This Saturday we're back in home action as we face @AirdrieoniansFC at the Caledonian Stadium
🎟️ Tickets available from https://t.co/iOIFJ8EV0e now – buy in advance to save money!
Ticket Info👉 https://t.co/gm3AyZjFbO pic.twitter.com/Hnee0BFEnj
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) October 23, 2023
Caley Jags were always catching up
With one point from their opening five league matches, Inverness sacked manager Billy Dodds and assistant Barry Wilson in mid-September.
It came two months after Dodds had guided the Highlanders to the Scottish Cup final, where they lost 3-1 to Ange Postecoglou’s treble-winning Celtic.
Dods says Caley Thistle were always chasing their tails over the summer in a bid to catch up on their fitter, fresher rivals.
He said: “The Championship went to the final day last year, with the title up for grabs (Dundee pipped Queen’s Park) and teams were trying to secure a top-four place.
“It has been difficult for Inverness because they had a four-week wait between their season finishing and the Scottish Cup final in June.
“While it was great to reach the cup final, having that four-week break didn’t help them and then they had a shorter break after the final, while the teams had a six-week run-in before the Viaplay Cup started. It was very stop-start for Inverness.
“Hopefully they can win Saturday’s game against Airdrie and aim to move on from there.”
Ferguson capture was great for ICT
Dods admits he didn’t expect Inverness to land a boss to replace Billy Dodds with such stature as former Scotland, Everton and Newcastle United striker Duncan Ferguson.
Ferguson, one of British football’s biggest names, has been interim boss of Everton in the Premier League, but after an ill-fated spell at Forest Green this year, this is only his second permanent job as a manager.
Dods added: “You would probably think Inverness might have gone for a Scottish-based manager, one of those mentioned in the press, but to appoint Duncan Ferguson, given his personality and aura, is great.
“Hopefully he can lift the players as well as attract other players when it comes to the transfer window.
“He’s already taken in David Wotherspoon, who was let go by St Johnstone this year, maybe down to finances.
“David was excellent at St Johnstone and Duncan will hope to get the best of out of him during his short-term contract (until January).”
Lowland League progress for Colts
Dods is assistant manager of high-flying Lowland League side Cumbernauld Colts, working alongside boss and ex-Inverness player David Proctor.
Colts find themselves level on points with leaders East Kilbride, albeit having played three matches more.
𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆
The updated Park's Motor Group Lowland League table following yesterday's results…@StirlingUniFC host @BonessUnited_FC, this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/9IRPp69iuY
— The Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League (@OfficialSLFL) October 22, 2023
Ex-Brechin City manager Dods, who also starred for Hibs, St Johnstone and Dundee United during his playing career, feels the Broadwood-based team are rising to the challenge after finishing 14th last term.
He said: “We’ve made a strong start to the season compared to last season where we started slowly and were in the bottom half of the league most of the year.
“We won our first couple of fixtures then had a wee dip, but we’ve steadily been picking up points.
“We’ve won four games in a row and we’re joint-top of the league, although East Kilbride have games in hand.
“We have two more matches then we’ll be halfway through the season.
“East Kilbride, with their finances and squad, will make it tough. But if we can stay up there challenging in second or third place, that would be an excellent season.
“We strengthened our squad over the summer with a couple of players in defence and midfield and kept the players we wanted to keep.”
Conversation