Premiership spot would mean a lot to Inverness Caledonian Thistle goalkeeper Mark Ridgers
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Mark Ridgers says it would mean a lot to him if he was part of the team that got Inverness Caledonian Thistle back into the Scottish Premiership.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper has been in the top flight before with Hearts, St Mirren and Partick Thistle, but returned to his hometown team Inverness for their first season after relegation in the summer of 2017.
With the Caley Jags finding form again in recent weeks and moving closer to securing a play-off spot, promotion once again seems like a far more likely proposition than it would have a month or two ago.
So on an individual level, Ridgers is hoping to finally earn Caley Thistle a place in the top flight at the fifth time of asking.
“For myself, that has been the aim from the start,” Ridgers explained.
“We’ve gone close on some occasions, and the year the league got stopped we were in a good position to finish second. We’ve always been there or thereabouts, we’ve just missed out in the play-offs.
“Credit to the team and the people who have been in charge – especially this year.
“We have always competed in this league but you’ve seen this year how difficult it is. Dunfermline were one of the favourites at the beginning of the season, so we know how hard it is.
“On a personal note, to help the team get back in the Premiership and to have contributed throughout the years would mean a lot to me.
“I’m really positive, I always have been. There are times it has been frustrating because you see what’s on offer, and what we’ve got in the dressing room, and I’ve said previously that opportunities have slipped when we probably could have done a little bit more.
“We just have to continue to get positive results, and fingers crossed for everyone – not just myself – because it would be amazing if we can get back into that league, but it’s a long way off still.”
Although spirits never appeared to drop at the Caledonian Stadium, there is certainly renewed momentum behind their promotion charge after consecutive victories over Arbroath, Raith Rovers and Dunfermline Athletic.
Even if the league title proves to be beyond reach, it is a run of form that – should it continue over the next five matches – would bode well in the play-offs.
“You can hit form at the right time,” Ridgers added.
“That’s what we’re looking to do really. We’ve got five league games to go.
“We know that a few more wins in the league will cement our position there – especially with the fixtures around about us.
“We’ve still got to play Kilmarnock obviously, but the rest are in the bottom half of the table, so we have to keep consistent and keep getting the results that we need and put in more performances.
“As a squad, we never doubted ourselves. We continued to work hard through the good spells and the bad spells, and now it’s starting to turn around for us – hopefully at the right time.”
