John Hughes was lauded for his attractive style of football that transformed Caley Thistle into Scottish Cup winners.
The new Ross County manager knows the process did not happen overnight however, and he insists he will be going back to basics in an attempt to help the Staggies climb off the foot of the Premiership.
Hughes led Inverness to cup glory in 2015, just 18 months after replacing Terry Butcher at Caledonian Stadium.
A number of his players spoke in glowing terms at how Hughes’ instruction to shift from a direct style to playing out from the back took them to new levels which culminated in Caley Jags’ success at Hampden Park.
Hughes knows the immediate need for points at Victoria Park however, and the 56-year-old insists he is wary of overloading his newly-inherited squad with too much information too quickly.
Hughes said: “I’m trying to make everything as easy as I can for them and give them that freedom.
“The education side, as we move on, that takes weeks and months of hard work in pre-season.
“The simplicity is they know their jobs in possession and out of possession.
“None of them will be going on the park saying ‘what do I do here?’ There are no grey areas.
“It’s a case of drip-feeding it in, not doing it all in one or two days.
“I love to be on the training pitch, but I’m delegating and watching Richie Brittain and Don Cowie taking it – and what they’re demanding is spot on.
“There are one or two times I’ll step in and add to it, but I don’t want to put too much information into them that I’m bamboozling them.”
Hughes replaced Stuart Kettlewell at Dingwall on Monday, with the former Falkirk and Hibernian boss already confident he has inherited players who will react well to his vision.
Hughes added: “I’m looking here and although we’ve got real good footballers from what I’m seeing, we’re just suffering at the moment.
“I have to help them along and come up with a shape and system they are suited to.
“That’s what I’ve learned. With where we are, fighting for our lives, I just need to try and simplify it and help them out, and let them know I’m in it with them.
“I have to let them go express themselves and play, but we need to keep that back door shut.
“We are going to play football and try to take the game to teams, but just being a little bit more resolute in what we’re doing, and not so much gung-ho and trying to score a goal.”
Hughes has been given the job until the end of the season by County chairman Roy MacGregor, having been out of work since leaving Raith Rovers in 2017.
Hughes says the initial short-term nature of his appointment does not faze him, insisting he is hungry for his new challenge.
He added: “It all happened late Saturday night and the chairman said he was leaning towards me.
“He asked if I could come in and give it a right good go, with it all still under review.
“In terms of my work ethic and what I bring, it doesn’t faze me.
“I go in, stimulate players and try to get the best out of them.
“If you talk to 95% of players I worked with – and there’s always that five per cent go against you in football and life – they enjoyed their time working with me.
“The most important thing to me is having so many wish me all the best, most of them my ex-players.
“That means an awful lot to me.
“You can talk of what you’ve done or won in the game, but you can’t rest on that. It’s action. Talk is cheap.
“I’ve missed the game. It’s time to get going again.”