Inverness Caledonian Thistle youngsters could nail down starting spots before stars return from injury, says Robertson
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John Robertson says Inverness Caledonian Thistle's senior players may not be automatic picks when they return from injury – if the club's youngsters continue to perform in the first team.
With a gluttony of experienced options ruled out in the first few weeks of the season, Caley Thistle have had to rely on youth.
Last Saturday's draw at home against Ayr United saw the Caley Jags finish the match with five teenagers and two more 21-year-olds on the pitch, by Robertson's reckoning one of the youngest ever teams the club had put out.
The prospects have clearly left their mark on the Inverness boss, who says they have every chance of keeping their spots in the side if performance levels remain high.
"They have stepped up over the last two seasons," Robertson insisted.
"People forget that Daniel Mackay has been around about the first team for three seasons.
"He was one of our youngest ever goalscorers when he scored in the Challenge Cup against Peterhead, and he's now got over 30 appearances for the first team.
"Roddy MacGregor has over 30 appearances for the first team, and Cameron Harper has just gone over a dozen appearances.
"Ryan Fyffe stepped up on loan last year at Fort William, and he has shown that he learned from going out and playing senior football. Lewis Hyde came on at Tynecastle and did very well as well, so these young lads are not scared.
"They will go in, they will do a job for us – yes it would be nice to have some more options, but those senior options won't necessarily be the ones we pick if the current crop of youngsters continue with the form that they are in."
Options is the key word when it comes to welcoming senior players back from the treatment table.
Robertson hopes that by the time the next set of Betfred Cup group games are completed, he will have a full squad fit and raring to go.
What he is really looking forward to is the strength in depth that more bodies will give him, giving ICT more of a chance to change matches in their favour with substitutions.
"We feel there's a really good mix there, but all we're lacking at the moment is numbers to bring players on to change games," Robertson explained.
"Last week, we brought on two 18-year-old lads, and they actually took over from two senior players, Brad McKay and James Keatings.
"It would be fantastic to have Aaron Doran, David Carson, Miles Storey, James Vincent, Lewis Toshney and Kevin McHattie and all the others available, because it would give us more options.
"Right now, the biggest problem we've got is rotation – we really should be rotating our players like other teams to make sure nobody else picks up injuries.
"The lads who are playing at the moment have had to virtually play every game, and they will need a rest at some stage.
"Hopefully, over the next fortnight we'll get the majority of those players back in and around the team ready to play."
Although remaining coy over the specific individuals, there could be a couple of those names in the squad for this afternoon's match against Arbroath at the Caledonian Stadium.
Dick Campbell's side had a winning record over Caley Thistle last season, winning two of the three fixtures between the teams before the season was curtailed.
Results have not gone the Smokies' way in the Championship so far this season, but they did put up a fight against title favourites Hearts last time out.
So Robertson fully expects yet another tough encounter today, but is hoping his players can build on an encouraging draw last weekend to take all three points.
“They beat us twice last season," he recalled.
"We are under no illusions just how tough a game it’s going to be.
“They beat us home and away, and we know it’s going to be a difficult match.
“The point we got last week was well deserved. We had chances, particularly in the first half, and could have been clear and away.
“Considering the options we had available it was a tremendous effort from the players, but we move on to this week.
"We are hopeful we can build on last week’s good display, and take our chances this week."
