Inverness Caledonian Thistle goalkeeper knew title race could be close call
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GOALKEEPER Mark Ridgers says he is not surprised how tight it is at the top of the Championship this season.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle are top of the pile, but only by one point ahead of Raith Rovers after 17 matches.
Arbroath are third and only three points behind, with Kilmarnock fourth, five points behind and Partick Thistle fifth, six adrift of ICT.
In recent years, the Championship has become a one-horse race with one team dominating.
But Ridgers isn’t surprised to see five teams all chasing top spot.
“We have played in this league for a few years and we know this is the standard,” he said.
“It comes down to small margins every game and you just have to look at the results. Kilmarnock lost 1–0 to all the top teams around them and shows goal difference could come down to it.
“People say Arbroath are a part time team, but they are a good team and have built a good Championship team. Raith Rovers are on a 13-game unbeaten run and we were the last team to beat them.
“Teams will have those ups and down, but when you are down, it is about turning it around as quick as possible, we managed to do that at a crucial spell.
“Other teams aren’t winning as much as they like and that is why we are top of the table.”
Caley Thistle face Hamilton Academical on Saturday, a team relegated from the Premiership last season and are 17 points adrift of Inverness in sixth place.
Hamilton were the first team to beat Inverness in the league this season with a 2–1 win at the beginning of October.
Despite hammering Greenock Morton 6–1 last Saturday, Ridgers is taking nothing for granted.
“We can’t be complacent as we had a good result on Saturday, when you look at how tight the league is we take it game by game.
“League position doesn’t matter but we know if we create chances and keep a clean sheet we know we can win the game. It will be difficult, as they have picked up a few results.
“If we could be top at Christmas day that would be nice. Being where we are at the moment, has changed one or two people thoughts, not like myself and a lot of people at the club who believe we are a good team. “But I said last season, It is literally about creating gaps.”
