Caley Thistle are second favourites for the League One title, although one bookmaker said the recent upheaval at the club makes it difficult to know what to expect from Duncan Ferguson’s side this season.
McBookie have made last year’s basement side in the Championship Arbroath, bossed by ex-Ross County manager Jim McIntyre, the 10/3 favourites to win the title, just ahead of the Caley Jags at 4/1.
Queen of the South, who along with ICT are the only other full-time club, are next in line at 11/2.
Montrose are 6/1 with Paul Hartley’s Cove Rangers, who were fifth last term, at 13/2 ahead of the August 3 kick-off.
Youngsters central within ICT squad
ICT have lost several senior players – including many loanees this summer – and had a 19-man player pool for friendly wins at Clachnacuddin and Nairn County.
On Saturday, they are visitors to Championship runners-up Raith Rovers for their penultimate friendly before taking on Brora Rangers on Tuesday.
‘Extremely difficult to price up ICT’
Paul Petrie, of McBookie.com, believes, despite the financial challenges at the club, Inverness could contend for the title.
He said: “ It was extremely difficult to price up the chances of Inverness based on the current situation at the club.
“However, we still think the squad is strong enough to put in a challenge for the title and if they manage to get more investment then they could easily become title favourites.
“Under normal circumstances, Inverness would probably be the odds-on favourites, had they not had their financial issues. That’s what made it so tricky.
“You could make a case for even (League Two champions) Stenhousemuir, who are the outsiders because the league is so wide open.
“It is, of course, still early days. Clubs have not completed their squads, which is why it is so difficult to price up so early in the proceedings. It’s always a good talking point though and customers want to see these prices are early as possible.
“I think by the time the Premier Sports Cup matches have been played (at the end of July), these prices could be completely different.
“Teams could get players in on loan from Premiership clubs, so the prices will likely change over the next couple of weeks, but it gives people the chance to have an early bet if they can find some value.”
‘It’s going to be a big ask’ for team
Sandy Sutherland, of fans’ podcast The Wyness Shuffle, believes it could be challenging for Caley Thistle to win the league with so many young players.
He said: “I can’t say instinctively that I can see us being second favourites for the league right now just because we have such a young squad.
“Three-quarters of our squad is populated by players in their teens or early 20s, the majority of which have had fleeting opportunities in the first-team at Championship level.
“The rest of those lads have been playing (on loan) in the Highland League or in League Two. The Highland League is probably the best it has ever been, but it is still a jump of several leagues between where we’re at.
“It’s going to be a big ask for a lot of these guys. If you take away Billy Mckay or Danny Devine through injury or suspension, with their experience, it becomes a very frail squad.
“Caley Thistle fans will need to be very open-minded about the season ahead. It will be a massive test for the younger boys especially.
“The onus will be on the senior guys who were here last season to step up and be leaders on the pitch and stay fit, which is a big one. That’s been a bugbear over the past few seasons.
“It’s too early to call where we’re going to be. Should new owners come in, there may well be a budget there to bring in players, which is something we absolutely need to do.”
The full odds are: 10/3 Arbroath, 4/1 ICT, 11/2 QOS, 6/1 Montrose, 13/2 Cove, 7/1 Alloa, 14/1 Kelty, 20/1 Annan, 20/1 Dumbarton, 20/1 Stenhousemuir.
