Caley Thistle manager Terry Butcher

TERRY Butcher believes it is "miraculous" the position Caley Thistle currently find themselves in, especially with the continual setbacks they have endured this season.

Despite having been down at the foot of the Scottish Premier League table for the majority of the campaign so far, Inverness are just four points away from a place in the top six.

For manager Butcher, whose squad has been blighted by injury and suspension throughout the campaign so far, to be where they are is testament to the character of the players.

While other teams have made changes simply to rest players or adopt a different system, Butcher’s selection have often been forced upon him, while it has also been the case at times that he has had to ask players to operate in positions that are new to them.

"We’ve had to change the side deliberately so many times this season that it’s quite unbelievable," he said.

"Also, the majority of our injuries have seemed to come in matches, as well as the red cards we’ve had, but these are outwith our control.

"We really are doing everything we can to be better, but we’ve faced massive challenges and I can’t think of any other season in football that I’ve had where I’ve been so frustrated and angry at the amount of times we’ve had to adapt because of injury or suspension.

"It’s miraculous where we are and the boys deserve credit for that because they’ve been unbelievable.

"If you had of said to me at the start of the season that Kenny Gillet would have played right back and also central defence I wouldn’t have believed it. The same goes for Richie Foran, who is now playing in midfield.

"However, the players have been wonderful. You as them to do something and they do it to the very best of their ability.

"They’ve all got huge hearts. They take me to new heights, but the also take me to new depths. However, they don’t half put a shift in.

"All I can demand from them is that we are more ruthless in front of goal. We have it in our locker and hopefully in the eight games we have until the split, we can pick up as many points as possible."