Caley Thistle's Gary Warren says side are still match for any side in Scotland
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GARY Warren says Caley Thistle’s players are determined to show that they are still a match for any of their rivals in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Defeats against Partick Thistle and Ross County in the opening fortnight have Richie Foran’s side at the foot of the table as the only team yet to get off the mark.
The 3-2 derby defeat against County came hot on the heels of a 1-0 Betfred Cup exit at Alloa Athletic, albeit the high fliers from League One, who have won evert game this season.
Now though, captain Warren is urging his troops to show that they can more than hold their own, starting away to a Hearts team on Saturday many believe could be in the mix for a top three finish.
He told the HN: "As a club, the first thing you want to do is secure your safety then anything after that is a bonus. With the size of this club, we cannot compete with the top sides financially, but we can compete with anyone when it comes to heart and endeavour, which was something we lacked last Saturday. We can get back to that against Hearts and carry that on for the rest of the season.
"We’re only two games into the league season and you are still finding your bearings. We have a few new faces again this year and those coming in take time to get to know everyone’s game, but over the next few games I have no doubt that will turn around. We have a good core of players, the sort of lads who are willing to work hard.
"We go to Hearts on Saturday and we will still be full of optimism. We have nothing to lose. Hearts are a good side, but so are we. We have had a little knock over the past week or so, but that’s when we come back fighting and come back stronger. We always pick ourselves up and that’s what we will do on Saturday."
The 31-year-old, who took over the captaincy officially from Foran when the latter became the boss this summer, was gutted to lose the first derby of the season against a County side who had not yet been firing.
Following Saturday’s 3-2 defeat, he admits they have to get better at keeping the door closed.
He stressed: "When you concede three goals you give yourself a mountain to climb. On our part, they were sloppy goals to lose, similar to the goals we lost at Partick the week before. We need to cut those mistakes out. In general, I thought we started the game very well, but if you don’t keep the back door shut then you are in trouble.
"The first goal we scored gave us a lift and it brought us back into the game, but then we conceded a third goal straight after half-time. That’s what killed us. It was another poor goal to concede."
