Inverness Caley Thistle looking for friendlies ahead of Scottish Cup final against Celtic
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INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle head coach Billy Dodds says they will be looking for warm-up matches before their Scottish Cup final clash against Celtic next month.
After Caley Thistle missed out on the promotion play-offs after finishing in sixth place in the Championship, it enforced a space of 29 days between their 2-1 defeat against Ayr United last Friday and their Scottish Cup final clash at Hampden on Saturday, June 3.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle have gone on a short break after their final league match.
But Dodds says when they return to prepare for the cup final, they will be looking for friendly matches before they face Celtic.
“I have got to give the boys a well-earned rest. It’s been a long season,” said Dodds.
“I would have loved to have qualified for the play-offs because this year it was perfect preparation because there is a week’s rest between the first and second legs of the semi-final.
“If we then reached the play-off final, that would have been put back because of the Scottish Cup final.
“We have to rest – we can’t just keep training for a month. We will come back and try and get a couple of games and prepare properly.
“The play-offs would have been ideal preparation for the cup final.“
Dodds says they are determined to put the disappointment of missing out on promotion and concentrate on pulling off a shock in the Scottish Cup final.
“We’re going to enjoy the Scottish Cup final and make sure we don’t just turn up for the occasion.
“Yes, there’s disappointment with not getting where we wanted to in terms of the Championship because I think we’re one of the best teams in the league.
“We never got there and that’s disappointing for the fans.“
