New head coach Scott Kellacher is confident administration-hit Caley Thistle can stay up – despite a 3-1 League One defeat at Dumbarton.
In his first interview since replacing Duncan Ferguson, he explained there was no question he would take the job when asked to step up.
Hampered already by a 15-point penalty to put them at the foot of the table, the Caley Jags still have 25 fixtures remaining to try to defy the odds.
James Hilton fired Dumbarton in front, but ICT squared the contest with a Jake Davidson header to make it 1-1 at the break.
Ryan Blair’s low finish steered Dumbarton ahead once more and Hilton crashed home his second to compound the misery,
This was a first home league win for the hosts and second victory on the spin for Stevie Farrell’s side.
The scoreline didn’t reflect the way Inverness played but it was a reminder that the battle to remain in the third-tier is going to be formidable.
Major coaching reshuffle at ICT
A 15-point punishment for going into administration saw them drop to the foot of the table on -3 points, with the Sons their closest rivals before kick-off.
The club, with £3.6 million debts to deal with, is on the market and administrators BDO remain hopeful of a buyer rescuing the situation.
Long-term first-team coach Kellacher replaced axed manager Ferguson as the new head coach last week and Billy Mckay doubles up on his striker role by being the assistant boss.
They are being supported by head of youth Ross Jack and senior academy coach Gordon Nicolson.
‘I’ve gone through every single emotion at this club’ – Kellacher
Kellacher explained how he came to be the boss of the club he’s served so well.
He said: “The administrators asked me if I could take control of the team. It was never a question for me.
“Whatever the club needs me to do, I am always there. I will give everything I’ve got, as will these players. The task is tough.
“Our target is to escape relegation. I’m not a guy who will feel sorry for myself. I’m positive.
“Our next target is to win against Kelty on Saturday, like it was when we came to Dumbarton.
“It was a tough week with boys being let go, but we took today on and we were looking for a better result, but none of us are feeling sorry for ourselves. We can’t afford to be.
“I have gone through every single emotion at this club. The highs of winning a Scottish Cup final in 2015 and playing in Europe, to being relegated.
“I said to the boys, ‘this is going to be a rollercoaster’, but let’s make sure we come off at happy at the end.”
Rally call from new Inverness boss
Despite this loss, Kellacher is no doubt everyone connected with ICT can rally around and help turn the tide in their favour.
He said: “If we play like we did in the first hour, we will win more games than we lose. We need to make sure we win enough to ensure we stay in this league.
“The fans were absolutely brilliant today. We’re going to need them because there will be bumps along the way. But if they stick with us and the players, we will be okay.
“We need to get this place back together – the fans, the players, all the staff at the stadium, and Inverness as well.
“We have a massive task ahead of us, but we’re up for the challenge. The players and us are not feeling sorry for ourselves. We’re upbeat and looking to get three points against Kelty next weekend.”
‘We need to defend together’
And the former Celtic youth and Nairn County forward’s only disappointment from this match was their attacking intent wasn’t equalled by their ability to stop their opponents.
He added: “For the first hour, hopefully people saw what we were trying to do. It was a harsh lesson. We need to win games, I understand that.
“If we are attacking together, we need to defend together. I thought in the first hour we were terrific by getting forward and getting crosses into the box and we tried to get bodies in there.
“It was frustrating in terms of the goals we lost. The first one, you can’t do anything about. It was some strike and you have to take your hat off to him.
“For the second one, we should have picked up better from a corner, and with the third one, we lost it in the middle of the park and they break forward and scored.”
Hilton scorcher fired Sons in front
Full-back Wallace Duffy was one of the four contracted Inverness players axed by administrators last week, so Davidson took his place at right-back and Robbie Thompson slotted into midfield.
Connall Ewan, who is on loan from Ross County, replaced the suspended Danny Devine at the heart of the ICT defence.
Inverness, roared on by a vocal backing, were the team mainly on the front foot early on, with Thompson, Keith Bray and Mckay menacing their hosts.
However, the Sons scorched into the lead on 14 minutes when Hilton collected possession from Michael Ruth and he rifled a rocket of a shot high into the net out of reach of Musa Dibaga from 20 yards.
Davidson responded with leveller
The visitors they were not behind for long as they responded 12 minutes later when, from a tempting corner from Paul Allan, Davidson pounced to bury a header past Brett Long for the leveller.
ICT took confidence from their goal and Adam Mackinnon was not far off with a low shot after another neat exchange between Bray and Thompson.
Caley Jags sunk by second half double
Inverness were almost in front early in the second half when Mckay went for goal, but Long reacted to pull off a save from close range.
However, on 63 minutes, ICT fell behind again. A corner was knocked on by Mark Durnan into the box, and Hilton was the quickest to react and he guided a low drive into the far right corner.
It was game over 10 minutes later Hilton strode forward, uncontested, and rifled a low effort into the bottom left-hand corner for a third Dumbarton goal.
Caley Thistle ended the day 15 points behind second bottom Dumbarton after Annan Athletic moved up one spot to eighth following their 1-0 win against Queen of the South.
Teams: Dumbarton v Caley Thistle
DUMBARTON (4-3-3): Long, Blair, Brown, Durnan, Miller, Niang, Wilson (McGuffie 80), Pignatiello (Orsi 80), Shiels (Gray 51), Ruth (Mumbongo 80), Hilton (Wallace 76).
Subs not used: O’Neil (GK), Lynas, Young, Clark.
CALEY THISTLE (4-1-4-1): Dibaga, Nolan, Savage, Ewan, Davidson, Longstaff, Mackinnon (Strachan 87), Robbie Thompson (MacLeod 76), Allan, Bray (Mackay 79), Mckay.
Subs not used: Reblias (GK), Samuel Thompson.
Referee: Graham Grainger.
Attendance: 872.
Man of the match: James Hilton.
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