Billy Mckay insists Caley Thistle still face a massive task to ensure the club remains in League One next season.
The player/assistant manager, who is a doubt to face leaders Stenhousemuir on Saturday through injury, knows fixtures are fast running out in their bid to stay in Scottish football’s third tier.
Battered by a 15-point deduction in October for going into administration, Mckay and head coach Scott Kellacher have helped the team win eight of their 15 games.
They were recently on the cusp of finally getting out of the relegation zone, but last week’s 3-0 loss at title contenders Arbroath knocked them back.
It means they are five points adrift of nearest rivals Annan Athletic and Montrose, the latter of which drew 1-1 at Cove Rangers in midweek.
Like Inverness, Dumbarton quickly followed them into administration and were docked 15 points and they occupy last place.
The Sons are 14 points behind ICT and, even with a game to spare, look set for automatic relegation.
‘We are facing a relegation play-off’
As the former top-flight side and Scottish Cup winners prepare to celebrate a 30th anniversary dinner this weekend, Mckay underlined how vital it is they complete what seemed like mission impossible.
He said: “You can’t underestimate how big an achievement it would be to keep this club in League One.
“Everyone could see what state the club was in when we got the 15-point deduction and what a hard task it would be.
“Even with Dumbarton getting the same deduction, that doesn’t mean we can’t go down.
“We’re still second bottom and potentially facing a relegation play-off.
“We’ve still got a lot of work to do, from now until the end of the season. We will try our very best every single day.
“Two weeks ago, it looked like we were going to be out of the bottom two, but we’re now still in it by five points.
“We just need to focus on ourselves and make sure we go on strong runs like we have been. If we do that, we will be alright.”
Mckay on leaders Stenhousemuir
Saturday’s visitors Stenhousemuir were surprise League Two champions last season, and they’re top of League One, albeit Arbroath are one point behind with two games in hand.
Record scorer Mckay reckons Stenny have maintained that strong mentality which took them to their first-ever SPFL title last May.
He said: “Falkirk, who won League One last season, are now at the top of the Championship and it’s no coincidence that teams who are promoted have momentum and the winning habit, which they have taken into the next season.
“They also have a really experienced manager (Gary Naysmith), who has won promotions, and they also have experienced players, so they’re up there on merit.
“They’ve come up and, rather than struggling, they’ve been great. All credit to them.”
Caley Jags responding well to defeats
Since October, ICT have won four and drawn once straight after their previous five defeats before last weekend.
And Mckay insists they’re confident the team can repeat the feat against their high-flying opponents this weekend.
He added: “Nearly every time, since me and the gaffer have come in, we’ve responded to setbacks with a win, which is pleasing.
“That’s what we’re aiming to do on Saturday. We want to get back to winning ways. We know there will be blips along the way.
“It’s about how you deal with that – make sure you don’t go two or three games without a win.
“Stenhousemuir are at the top on merit – they are a strong team.
“We played them at their place last time, which was tough, but we got the (1-0) win.
“We expect this will also be tough, but we fully expect to get back to winning ways.
Mckay is hoping to recover from a knock to make it for the Stenny game, an injury sustained when he went close to scoring at Gayfield last week.
Otherwise, ICT have no fresh injury concerns for the match which kicks off at 2pm due to the anniversary dinner at night.
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