Caley Thistle head coach Scott Kellacher would love to see a Scottish football league shake-up as his travel-weary team break through the 1,200-mile barrier this weekend.
A 3-0 win at Annan Athletic on Saturday was followed by a 3-2 defeat at nearby Dumfries against Queen of the South on Tuesday for the administration-struck Highlanders.
They’ve clocked up around 940 miles in those return trips and will add another 300 miles to that tally when they return from facing Alloa Athletic in League One on Saturday.
The Queens’ game was rescheduled from November when the Palmerston fixture was postponed due to weather, while the Annan game last weekend was postponed from the week before, leading to a swift triple-header.
Although Storm Eowyn is set to batter much of Scotland from Friday, there is no indication of any possible call-off at Alloa.
Expanded leagues good for the game
Inverness will also host Queen of the South on February 1, and, although bad weather has caused that log-jam, Kellacher believes larger leagues would generate more excitement for fans.
He said: “I’ve said it right from the start – even when I was assistant manager and a coach – that I think they need to make the leagues bigger and more interesting.
“I do believe that if you were to put the top six teams in the Championship into the Premiership, it would make it more interesting because they could challenge.
“Places like Raith and Livingston are hard to go to, so I think a change like that would be really beneficial.
“It can be hard going when you’re playing the same team four or five times. We’ve got Queen of the South next week again, and you want to keep it exciting for the fans and the players.
“I would be right behind a change if there was ever a chance of it happening. I think it would be good for Scottish football.”
In 2018-19, ICT played Dundee United seven times, with three cup clashes added to four league meetings.
Teams relish any wins over Inverness
Last September, Inverness (under Duncan Ferguson) blew a 2-0 lead in the last 20 minutes at Alloa to draw 2-2, while edging past the Wasps 1-0 in November thanks to a Charlie Gilmour goal.
Six wins from their last 10 games means ICT are now just four points behind eighth-placed Annan, who host Montrose this weekend.
Kellacher knows that any win over his team is seen as a big result for opponents, so he’s calling on his team to deliver a winning show at the Indodrill Stadium.
He said: “Alloa are a very good side, sitting in the top four.
“Each time we’ve played them this season has been hard.
“They’ve got good strikers and are good at the back, so we will have to be at our best to win.
“We know we have to be at our best every week. Even on Tuesday, Queen of the South beat us, and you could see how much it meant to them.
“Any result they get against us takes them a wee bit further away from us.
“We need to try and keep winning every game and our sights on Annan. Let’s try and get ourselves safe, that’s the most important thing.”
One player ICT will have to watch is Alloa’s Scott Taggart, who has scored 12 successive penalties, including four this season.
Six of those converted spot-kicks have come at 90 minutes or beyond, so Andy Graham’s side are capable of going to the end, like ICT have shown at times this term.
Better game management required
Against Queen of the South on Tuesday, on-loan Aberdeen striker Alfie Bavidge scored early on for ICT, but former Inverness forward Adam Brooks swiftly levelled.
Brooks then put Queens in front early in the second half before Keith Bray made it 2-2. Jordan Allan, on loan from Falkirk, bagged the winner.
Kellacher admits conceding goals so quickly after scoring was a disappointing factor on Tuesday as he calls for better concentration at times.
He added: “It’s one of those things where we need to manage the game.
“I felt we could have done that a bit better on Tuesday night. After we scored our first, I don’t think we managed it well for the next five or 10 minutes.
“When we got back to 2-2, we also probably didn’t manage it as well as we should have, so that’s something myself and the players all need to learn from together.
“The boys have been excellent, I can’t ask for much more from them.
“They have given absolutely everything, and I think we have made it exciting for the fans to come and watch again.
“I want the players to be in a team that are creating chances, and on Tuesday it was probably a great game to watch for the neutral.
“As much as I was disappointed with the result, it was nice to see two teams having a go at each other.”
Longstaff rated as 50-50 for Alloa
A dead leg suffered by Luis Longstaff at Annan last week makes him 50-50 for the weekend as the physios treat the bruising.
On-loan Dons midfielder Alfie Stewart took his place in the side against the Doonhamers in midweek and is likely to retain that spot should Longstaff miss out.
For more Caley Thistle news and updates visit our dedicated page and join our Facebook group.
Conversation