Scott Allardice is striving to improve at Inverness Caledonian Thistle
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After being named Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s players’ player of the year for the 2020/21 season, Scott Allardice could have been forgiven for thinking more of the same would be enough for him this year.
As far as the man himself is concerned, though, every day is an opportunity to improve.
It is perhaps a mark of Allardice’s influence on the Caley Thistle side, even at this early stage of the campaign, that with him playing 90 minutes Inverness have won both of their first two Championship matches with clean sheets, compared to their struggles in the Premier Sports Cup group stage.
His hard work can sometimes fly under the radar given that goals and assists are not what the 23-year-old’s game revolves around.
Yes, he would not object to finding the net more regularly, but it is in those other aspects of the game that Allardice wants to get even better at.
“The main thing is that the team wins,” Allardice said.
“But you also need to look at yourself. It has been a good start from the rest of the boys and myself, but I would like to think there’s more to come.
“I’ve never really looked at my game as getting loads of goals, but maybe I could add some more. I look at my all around game, my contribution to the team and trying to control most games for the most part.
“That’s something I aim to do in the position I play, so there are things within the game that might not be goals or assists, but just aspects of games that I know I can get better at.
“If I can do that well, I like to think that I could improve.”
Even though the former Dundee United man is not exactly a veteran, he has often been the more experienced one in the middle of the park for ICT.
Early last season Allardice struck up a good partnership with Roddy MacGregor, which he has replicated this season with Reece McAlear, and he suspects being the senior player spurs him on.
“Maybe it helps me, it makes me take more responsibility having the younger one beside me,” he reasoned.
“You really need to go and take the game by the scruff of the neck.
“Whoever you have there, they are good players. With Roddy and Reece, they are young players that are going to do well, then you’ve got Sean Welsh as the most experienced head.
“I like to think I’ve had a good season under my belt.
“I know I need to keep at it, I know there’s competition for places, but I also feel like if I keep working hard and get more games under my belt, I can keep improving.”
