Focus on football ahead of future for Caley Thistle defender Josh Meekings

CALEY Thistle defender Josh Meekings wants to focus on being a first-team regular at Caley Thistle again - ahead of discussing his future.

Meekings is out of contract at the end of the season and Caley Jags boss Richie Foran has said he is happy to let the former Ipswich Town youngster and Greg Tansey, also out of contract, enjoy their football.

Injury troubles have frustrated Meekings so far this season, with a knee knock sustained in pre-season and a hamstring strain curtailing his action so far. He returned to the side for the 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock and will be fit for tonight's trip to Motherwell.

For now, all that occupies his mind is being a regular fixture in the side again, ahead of thinking where he might be playing his football next season.

“For me, I need games. I need to be playing. It is as simple as that. I need to be turning in good performances and helping the team. If I’m playing well then, hopefully, the team is too. That’s all I’m looking at for now," said Meekings.

“Obviously the previous year, it wasn’t great with my injury so I just need to get back to the basics, week-in, week-out and try to improve my game. Then, we’ll see where it goes.

“You can’t rush into anything. You’ve always got to be sure to make the right decision. Sometimes they are very difficult decisions to make, but that’s part of what we do. I’ve been here for a number of years now and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, so it is definitely going to be a big decision no matter what it is that happens."

Meekings returned in a game that will hardly go down as a classic - a turgid 1-1 draw with Killie that propelled Caley Thistle into the top six. Hamilton's win over Aberdeen last night has seen the Accies leapfrog them but a win against Motherwell tonight could see them occupy a top-half position again.

A greater urgency has been called for by Foran and Meekings, who believes Inverness need to stamp their authority on games. They have scored twice in their last three and in all those games, struggled to create a great deal going forward.

"Even though this weekend wasn’t what we wanted we still ground it out and managed to get a point in the end," said Meekings. "Hopefully we can take that down to Motherwell and get a good result.

“We need to get out of the blocks quickly, stamp our authority on the game. We have to give everything we can and if the manager wants more passion that’s what we’ve got to show.

“We’ve got to show a desire to improve.”

There are no fresh injury concerns for Foran tonight, with Larnell Cole (achilles) and Ryan Esson (elbow) still unavailable.

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