Early wins vital to Inverness promotion dream
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RODDY MacGregor insists Caley Thistle remain upbeat after a narrow defeat in Dunfermline marked their Championship opener.
But the young attacking midfielder admits the Inverness team must find winning form early in the league campaign given this season’s reduced fixture list.
With the big kick-off delayed by over two months, nine of the usual 36 matches per club have been removed to ease fixture congestion and the burden on finances at empty stadiums.
The Inverness club went down 3-1 to their Fife hosts in a close opening game, settled in the final 15 minutes.
Ayr United, play-off rivals last season, are next up tomorrow at the Caledonian Stadium.
“We’re keeping last Saturday’s defeat in perspective,” the 18-year-old MacGregor said. “It was a very tight game I thought up until Dunfermline’s second goal, when we really had to open up and go for it.
“That left us a bit exposed.
“But everyone is positive. We know we still have lots of boys to come back from injury and we’re feeling positive. There’s a long way to go and, hopefully, we can put it right on Saturday against Ayr.
“It is obviously a really strange kind of season, with fewer fixtures and, of course, no fans as well. With it being such a short season, we know we do really need to hit the ground running and we’re all working hard to make it happen.
“We’ll look to pick up three points at home to Ayr and kick on from there.”
The Fort George training ground, as the darker, colder days beckon, can be a forbidding spot, but MacGregor reckons the thrill of being back in action is trumping that.
“It was absolutely pouring down this morning, muddy even trying to get into Fort George, but we’re loving it,” he said. “In lockdown, it is the day-to-day stuff you miss, training and seeing everyone – having a laugh – so it’s just good to be back.”
