Aaron Doran believes Duncan Ferguson’s attack-minded approach will suit his style.
The experienced midfielder, 32, has just returned from three months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
He made an immediate impact when he scored in Ferguson’s first game in charge in September – a 3-2 win at Arbroath.
After being injured in the next match against Partick Thistle, the attacking midfielder, whose career has been hampered by injuries, had to watch on from the stands.
In that time, he’s been impressed by the manner of the displays. He stepped off the bench late on in Friday’s 1-0 Championship defeat by Dundee United.
And he said Ferguson always made him part of the squad and he’s now keen to make up for lost time.
He said: “After being out for just over three months, it was good to be back.
“It was hard being in the gym when the lads were playing, but I have done it all before, so it wasn’t too bad this time.
“I had been back training for a couple of weeks, so I felt ready to go whenever the manager called me.
“The manager makes every player feel welcome. When you’re injured, you’re obviously not in his plans. Some managers can turn a blind eye and not really speak, but he speaks to you every morning and it’s been fine.
“I played in his first two games in charge and we didn’t know at that point what the style of football would be, but I’ve been watching over the past few months and I enjoy watching the team. I like his style of play.
“The players have a lot of freedom on the pitch and he wants them to move and pass the ball.
“That’s good for me and a few people have mentioned that to me, it will suit my style of play.
“I am definitely looking forward to trying to impress in training and hopefully getting back on the pitch.”
🏆 It's Scottish Cup Fourth Round action this weekend at the Caledonian Stadium as we face @BroomhillFC
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— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) January 15, 2024
Early goal would give ICT control
The focus for Inverness is fully on Saturday’s fourth-round home clash against Lowland League opponents Broomhill in the Scottish Cup.
The Caley Jags, last year’s runners-up, left it late to defeat another Lowland League side, Cowdenbeath, 2-0 in November.
Doran, who lifted the Scottish Cup with ICT nine years ago, insists they’ll be aiming to net first and reduce the risk of an upset.
He said: “This will be Broomhill’s biggest game of the season. The Scottish Cup is a huge competition and they will be ready for this one.
“There have already been cup shocks this season and that’s what they’ll want to achieve.
“You can’t take anyone lightly and I know the manager and our squad won’t be doing so.
“Whoever is playing will want to win this and push on to the last 16 of the cup.
“This club loves the Scottish Cup and we enjoy it ever season, so hopefully we can do well again in the competition this year.
“Broomhill will probably sit it and we’ll have a lot of the ball, so we have to be strong in the attacking areas.
“We want to score early. We don’t want to let it drag on to after 70 minutes, as it did against Cowdenbeath.
“Hopefully if we play as well as we’re capable of, then we’ll get through – that’s our aim.”
Aiming to help Mckay in goal stakes
The departure of attacker David Wotherspoon to Dundee United leaves a void in terms of a goalscorer, although Doran is confident the side will show bite without the former St Johnstone player.
He added: “There are goals in this team and we’re not relying just on Billy to score. Billy has the freedom to move around and that leaves space for other players to chip in with goals.
“If I can get minutes on the park, I can hopefully help with that.
“We’re a dangerous team. If we can just be a wee bit more ruthless in the final third, we’ll start scoring more goals.”