Hearts is next step towards full readiness for Inverness Caley Thistle
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Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson admits his side will not be at 100 per cent for tonight’s trip to Hearts – but insists that was always going to be the case.
Caley Thistle kick off their competitive season at Robertson’s old stomping ground in their opening match of the Betfred Cup group stage.
After a later return to training than some other teams though, they only have a few friendly matches under their belts.
The club have always insisted that the Betfred Cup group will form part of their preparations for the league, and Robertson says being ready for their Championship opener on October 17 is the priority.
“We’re not 100 per cent ready, but we knew that would be the case,” he said.
“We’ve already said we’re using the League Cup as part of our pre-season plan.
“While we still want to qualify for the League Cup campaign – we’re not writing it off – for us October 17 is crucial.
“We have to be up and ready for the league because it is a shortened campaign.
“That doesn’t mean we’re not going to go down to Tynecastle and do our very best, because we will do.”
Robertson is nursing some injuries in his squad.
Four first team players missed last Saturday’s 1–1 draw with Elgin altogether, while Lewis Toshney and James Keatings were forced off during the match.
So the ICT boss will make the best of who he has available with no complaints.
“Looking at Saturday’s team, that was Brad Mckay’s first taste of first-team action after a little run-out at Clach on Friday,” he explained.
“We have Kevin McHattie, Aaron Doran, David Carson and James Vincent all still to come back as well.
“It’s important we get those lads back and match-ready for the 17th.
“Is it a disaster if James Keatings or Lewis Toshney miss Tuesday night? No.
“We’ll go down with what we’ve got and treat it very much as part of our preparations.”
Despite those knocks, Robertson was delighted to get a proper test against Elgin at the weekend.
“That’s the kind of pre-season game you need,” he added.
“We’ll learn a lot more from that than we did from beating them 7–3 before.
“If we had won by three goals we’d have thought everything was rosy, but there is still work to be done.”
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