CHAMPIONSHIP
INVERNESS v ST MIRREN
JOHN BAIRD insists he is happy to sacrifice scoring goals for the good of the team as Inverness revel in being clean-sheet kings.
The striker – now at his 12th Scottish club – has cemented his place in John Robertson’s starting line-up despite managing just two goals in 18 starts.
The Caley Thistle boss, as well as some of Baird’s teammates, have stressed his goals return does not reflect the 32-year-old forward’s overall contribution.
Seven matches without defeat or conceding a goal has ignited the Inverness promotion challenge. And today’s home test against second-top St Mirren will offer a barometer of just how far the home side have come.
Baird said: “When we started the run of clean sheets I knew as a striker we had to make sure we were better as a team.
“You’re sacrificing yourself to make sure the team is more solid. Dundee United last month, when we won 2-0 down there, was maybe the perfect example.
“We’ve become solid and have to keep working hard to make sure that continues.
“But it starts with the movement up top. There’s no big striker but there’s a lot of workrate and movement which is difficult to mark.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed not to have scored a few more goals but I’m more than happy with the way the last seven games have gone.
“Look at Connor Bell – it is falling for him just now and he’s hitting the back of the net.
“At some stage it’ll fall for me and I’ll put the ball in the back of the net. But the performance of the team is the most important thing.
“I’m playing a lot better than I was at the start of the season, even though I’ve not been scoring. I’ve been fine in training so I’ve been going into games with a clear head.”
St Mirren hotshot Gavin Reilly is hopeful he can be the man to finally breach the Caley Thistle defence.
The striker took his tally to 15 for the season with four goals in last weekend’s 7-1 Scottish Cup hammering of Lothian Thistle and is determined to continue his scoring spree.
Reilly said: “This will be a very tough game. We beat them 4-2 at home but they have strung together a decent run of form and haven’t lost a goal in seven matches.
“Any game in this league is hard but we feel there are goals in this team as we showed last weekend. That was the first time I’ve scored four in a game and I’m delighted with the way things are going at the minute.
“I would have been happy with 10 before Christmas so to grab 15 is great for the confidence levels.
‘Hopefully I can keep chipping in with goals and we’ll see where that takes us.”