Raven – No excuses after latest defeat
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DAVID Raven reckons three of the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership’s top players left Inverness last season – but urged those players stepping in to grab the limelight.
The Caley Thistle defender, whose goal against Celtic shot the club into the Scottish Cup final which they won in May against Falkirk, knows they need to start picking up points sooner rather than later.
An injury list which includes Richie Foran, Dean Brill, Aaron Doran, James Vincent, Gary Warren, Josh Meekings and Jordan Roberts has severely limited manager John Hughes’ options and the 2-0 loss at home to Hamilton at the weekend sees them have just two points from their opening five league games.
Former Liverpool, Tranmere and Carlisle man Raven (30) says there should be no greater motivation for those given their chance now at ICT to go out there and deliver.
He said: "There is still plenty of quality here but we have to remember we have lost three of the best players in the league from my point of view in Graeme Shinnie, Billy Mckay and Marley Watkins. Replacing them was always going to be tough and on top of that we have had injuries but I still feel there’s enough quality here to beat teams like Hamilton, especially at home.
"We’re not making excuses (about the injury situation). The lads who come into the team need to be good enough. It’s as simple as that. They have been around the club long enough to know what’s expected.
"Yes, we have players out injured but those coming into the team have a real chance to keep hold of the jerseys. For me, that’s the biggest spur we can have. We have to be better all over the park."
Saturday’s trip to Dens Park is a testing one for the Inverness team, but in the last game before the international break, Raven is eyeing the victory.
He explained: "Dundee is a tough place to go whether you are winning games or not. I thought Saturday was a must-win game for us and we got beat, so we have to dust ourselves down and keep working hard. I’m a great believer in that if you keep grafting away you will get what you deserve.
"Paul Hartley (Dundee boss) has made some cracking signings at Dundee and it looks as if they have improved from last season. They have taken Nick Ross who was a big player for us, that was another loss for us and a big gain for them. We’re looking to go there and get the result because it’s another big one for us."
Goals from on-loan Norwich City striker Carlton Morris and substitute Louis Longridge left Caley Thistle beaten by Martin Canning’s Hamilton at the weekend.
Raven was a winner according to the sponsors, but he stressed: "To pick up the man of the match award on Saturday was a bit embarrassing after a defeat like that against a team we should be beating. We made an ordinary team look a lot better than they were, so I was really disappointed by how it finished at the weekend.
"We conceded two soft goals against Hamilton. We are killing ourselves by giving the ball away in key areas and we are getting punished. It really could have been a different game if we’d scored our chances early on. We really should have been two or three up before 15 minutes.
"We didn’t score though and perhaps that dented our confidence and that’s what you are like when you are not winning games. It’s up to players like me and other senior players to step up and drag everyone up."
