Roles of Lonsana Doumbouya and Greg Tansey need to be adapted to help Caley Thistle's cause
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Sports editor Jamie Durent picks out a couple of tactical tweaks that would help the Caley Jags, following their weekend humbling against St Johnstone.
IN a theme similar to some of their other games this season, the ball was not staying in the attacking third for Caley Thistle.
Either passes were being intercepted or balls coming straight back off the head of Lonsana Doumbouya, instantly putting the away defence under pressure.
Given that Richie Foran wants his full-backs to play up the park, that inevitably puts great strain on the central players. Greg Tansey is worked greatly in his role as a ‘screener’ in front of the back four and more often than not, Ross Draper and Gary Warren found themselves backpedalling towards their own goal.
Liam Craig’s goal came from Inverness being put under pressure at the back, with Steven MacLean finding room to square to Craig, who could have cooked his dinner and still had time to pick his spot to score.
I am not sure how much longer Doumbouya can be persisted with as a loan striker.
Inevitably, when he is up front on his own, he is having to play with his back to goal and head possession backwards to try and find a team-mate.
If that is inaccurate, it hands opponents a glimpse of an opportunity to carry the ball forward at pace without having to fashion an opening.
Playing someone up alongside him may well be the answer. If you put a Scott Boden alongside him to sniff out second balls, or if Aaron Doran ran in behind to chase flick-ons, he would be more useful.
The way John Hughes started to get more out of Billy Mckay was to play Marley Watkins up with him. Mckay was good at linking the play and in Watkins, there was someone who could carry the ball at speed and also possess the physical attributes to shrug off challenges.
While there is little doubting Doumbouya’s asset is attacking crosses in the air, playing the link man is certainly not on his resumé.
He had little in the way of crosses to feed on in the first half, with the majority of Inverness’ possession coming around the Saints penalty area. Larnell Cole and Doran had half-chances, with the latter looking like one of the more creative Caley Thistle players.
One of the quandaries that has been raised is that of Tansey and his performances in a deeper role.
Foran praised him for sacrificing his attacking impetus for the sake of the team but there is no question he is not producing his best football when constantly chasing back towards his own goal.
You would hope that having him deeper would allow him to conduct play more, giving him greater vision of the entire pitch, but with only one midfield partner he is offered little time and protection.
Whether the uncertainty over his future is playing a part, who knows. But for the time I have known him, he has always seemed a committed and determined individual, regardless of what was going on around him.
There are concerns for Foran to address, without doubt. Defensively, Caley Thstle look frail. Whether that can be addressed by the return of David Raven and Brad Mckay, who knows.
Foran has money to spend in January and has alluded to defensive reinforcements, so perhaps one or two extra bodies will help. But the goals are coming from individual mistakes and three of Foran’s first-choice defenders were available to him.
With Raven back, it is not far from the back four that was one of the best in the league 18 months ago.
Whether they are being too gung-ho or morale has taken a dip, adjustments need to be made.
