Western Isles footballer enjoying licence being given at Inverness Caley Thistle
ADAM Mackinnon says he and his teammates at Inverness Caledonian Thistle are enjoying the licence given by head coach Scott Kellacher to go forward after they celebrated winning their second consecutive game in League One.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle defeated Alloa Athletic 1-0 on Saturday to reduce the gap at the bottom of the table to 10 points.
Charlie Gilmour scored the only goal of the game in the second half to give Inverness victory as they are now on four points.
They are now 10 points behind Annan Athletic who dropped to ninth following their 2-0 defeat to Kelty Hearts.
Mackinnon, who is originally from Tong in Lewis, says the squad knows given where they are in the table, it is vital that the team can’t settle for draws and avoid defeat. He says scoring goals will win games and they are embracing the importance of attack.
He said: “The gaffer has given us the licence to get forward and make things happen.
“We weren’t getting enough goals and that was the issue.
“We have to win games with the position we are in. We have to take risks and get goals and it has been working.
“As long as we are winning games and getting three points, if that means playing ugly at times, that has to be done.
“But it definitely feels better playing well, individually and as a team.
“Hopefully we can carry on that number of wins.”
Mackinnon did score from the edge of the box and also hit the post from 20-yards in their previous game which they won 2-1 at Cove Rangers.
He says he thought that he was not going to have the same success at that moment of the game against Alloa, so decided to play provider which led to the winning goal.
He said: “To be fair I thought the Alloa player was going to block it and I couldn’t get a clean strike.
“I thought I would take a touch and then the space opened up and thankfully it fell right to Charlie’s right foot and he was on target which won us game.”
Mackinnon says Inverness beating the team that is top of the league for the second consecutive week shows they have the quality to get out of relegation trouble.
However, he wants to see more of an emphasis on winning games more convincingly.
He said: “It shows we have a good team.
“I think we have a lot more quality to show and try to put two or three goals past teams.
“But it is coming and we are getting the wins. Hopefully we can make it nine out of nine next week.”
He impressed former manager Duncan Ferguson, who was axed as a result of administration last month, as a trialist during pre-season matches to be awarded a contract.
Mackinnon, a graduate of the Staggies academy, spent four years in the senior set up at Dingwall between 2020 and 2024.
He made six first team appearances at Ross County while also spending time out on loan at Brora Rangers in the Highland League, Montrose in League One and with Arbroath in the Championship last season.
Mackinnon says he wants games on a regular basis and is delighted to have been given that chance at Inverness. Despite only being 21, he believes he can use his experience to help young players in the squad.
He said: “I came here as I wanted to play games, I didn’t want to be sitting on a bench anymore.
“I just wanted to play and improve my game. The fact that I can makes it more enjoyable and hopefully we can climb up the table.
“I have played a full season in this league with Montrose, even though I am young it has given me experience. Playing for half a season in the Championship with Arbroath, I am trying to take that experience and pass it on to the younger boys, which shows you how young our squad is at the moment.”
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