Manager says he felt sick after Inverness Caley Thistle flop in Championship opener
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BILLY Dodds admits he was left “feeling sick” after watching his players almost visibly shrink in the firing line on Saturday.
The opening day disappointment in the Championship at home to Queen’s Park had the Caley Thistle manager off-colour, less because of the defeat itself than the manner of it.
Dodds will demand far more spirit and resilience from his team in coming matches.
Bereft of experienced players in injured skipper Sean Welsh and Danny Devine – carrying a knock, but named as substitute – the Caley Jags’ line-up did hold experience in Mark Ridgers, David Carson and Billy Mckay.
The rest of the team was mostly youthful, although Cammy Harper at 21 has played over 100 games for the club.
Dodds made it clear he was looking for more from all of them after repeated costly mistakes, saying it took the introduction of 17-year-old Keith Bray to lift his team late on.
“I have always said, I have a brilliant dressing room with honest boys,” the ex-Scotland and Rangers striker said.
“I just want them to go about their work collectively and individually where they go out saying ‘I’m going to be so determined today to win this game’. It didn’t look like that on Saturday. That was frustrating.
“That’s what I really felt sick about. I know that’s a big word and expression, but that’s how I felt after our first league game of the season.
“I sat down and watched the week before at Dundee, because I enjoyed it, but I can’t say I enjoyed it on Saturday. I wanted to see players get about the pitch, things getting cleared, my strikers taking it in. It wasn’t there.
“I have mentioned mindsets a lot. I want the players to give everything they’ve got, even when they’re not playing well.
“I questioned that on Saturday and I never usually do that.
“It might be that, when we lose another horrendous goal, it saps them. I’ve seen it before and we shrank as players.”
Dodds revealed that Welsh still has a groin issue carried over from last season, when he needed to take tablets to play in the Scottish Cup final, but should be back before long.
Devine is carrying a knock, but not far away.
Ayr United away is next up, with last season’s experiences a reminder of how valuable every point is in the Championship.
Dodds, though, won’t be panicked into knee-jerk reactions in the transfer market.
“I’m not looking for too many more,” he insisted. “Some people might say we’re short on the evidence of Saturday, but we cannot panic. This is a good dressing room. We have to stand up and be more nasty as a group, and individually.
“We have to be nasty and determined to ensure we do the right things and not feel sorry for ourselves. It looked like that on Saturday, in our first game of the season.”
