Striker says 18 points could be a winning quarter measure for Inverness Caledonian Thistle
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MANNY Duku believes if Inverness Caledonian Thistle can win at least 18 points every quarter, they can win the Championship and gain automatic promotion to the Premiership.
Inverness have made a terrific start to their first nine games of the season, winning 22 points with seven victories, one draw and one defeat, which has put them five points clear of the chasing pack.
Caley Thistle could have the chance to increase the distance from their closest rivals Raith Rovers when the two teams meet in a top-of-the-table clash in Kirkcaldy on Saturday.
Duku says looking at previous seasons in the Championship, 72 points would guarantee the league title and a place in the top flight.
So he believes if they take 18 points every quarter, they will give themselves a fantastic chance of winning the league.
“The staff and the board have not spoken to the boys about targets, but we all know that if we get 18 points every quarter, we will end up on 72,” said Duku.
“That means you should win the league as looking back at the old days, 72 points was good enough to win the league.
“Everyone at the club thinks getting 18 points every quarter would be perfect, so the more points we can get the better.”
Raith Rovers moved into second place last week after they defeated Arbroath 2–1 and Kilmarnock dropped points at Dunfermline Athletic in a 2–2 draw.
Inverness will remain top of the league regardless of the result on Saturday, but a win at Stark’s Park would extend their advantage over Raith to eight points.
Duku says Inverness do not want to give their rivals any opportunity to close the gap as they look to increase their advantage over the rest of the league.
“It has been a long time since Inverness lost against Raith Rovers and hopefully we can keep that going.
“They need the points as well, but we want to stay up there.
“Even if we lose we will still be top, but we want to increase the distance between us and everyone else to keep the great start going.
“If the gap stays as big as possible now, maybe towards the end that will be the difference.
“It is only a quarter of the job done, but we have shown that we can beat almost everyone, apart from Hamilton and Dunfermline.
“We need to keep going, believing and trust in the process.”
After a poor League Cup campaign where Inverness suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat to Stirling Albion and loss to Cove Rangers, Duku says they were always confident they could turn the season around.
“From us at the top to Dunfermline Athletic at the bottom, every team believes they are good enough, but to actually show it is what is important.
“The first league game was away at Arbroath, which we won and we hadn’t won there in a long time. That showed to us we were heading in the right direction.”
