Richie Foran may have got his managerial career off to a flying start in the Betfred Cup but the Irishman says that will count for nothing unless Caley Thistle carry their momentum into today’s Premiership opener against Partick Thistle.
Inverness secured their place in the last-16 of the cup competition with an excellent group campaign in which they finished top of their section, scoring 15 goals.
Foran, who replaced John Hughes as Caley Jags manager this summer, says league form will determine how successful his reign is.
He said: “We’re probably not going to be judged on cup games and beating Arbroath 7-0. With all respect to them and Cowdenbeath, we will be judged on our league form against Premiership opposition.
“The real business starts at 3pm and that’s when we need to go out and perform. Pre-season has looked excellent but it’s all about this game.
“In the first match, there’s normally a little bit of nerves, a little bit of tension and pressure. Players relax more after a couple of league games.
“The new lads coming in here for us won’t really know what to expect. We’ve looked good over the last couple of weeks but need to keep stepping it up.
“There have been one or two mistakes and that’s when we get punished against Premiership opposition. We need to take more of our chances as, quite possibly, we won’t get as many against experienced defences.
“We have to be sharper all over the park and keep stepping it up, every week.”
Inverness will come up against former defender Danny Devine who left this summer to join the Jags, and earlier this week claimed in doing so he has signed for a bigger club.
Foran was unmoved by the comments however, adding: “I’m not going to get into a war of words about the size of the clubs.
“I wish him all the best. He was a great servant here and a wonderful player for us as well. We tried to keep him, but it wasn’t to be.
“He’s moved on and let’s hope he can have a good season, but let’s hope he has a poor game tomorrow.
“We quite enjoy flying under the radar. Let the other guys slag each other off or build themselves up, whatever they want to do.
“I’m happy with the way we run things here, the underdog mentality. I know what we’ve got and don’t need to shout about the quality here and how good we can be. We need to go out and show it on Saturday.”