The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
No mere Highland fling
I’m not feeling too nervous ahead of this game – most of me is already resigned to relegation.
Perhaps a game against our local rivals will bring the best out of the players and they will surprise us.
Sadly, though, it could signal the end of an era for the Highland derby. In the past there have been a good few years where there have been no derby games – because the clubs have been in different divisions – and we may be heading back into that situation.
We may be bidding farewell to the Highland derby for the time being but, if we can bid farewell to it on a high, it would be some small comfort at the end of a disappointing season.
Understandably, Ross County would love to move us closer to relegation. That’s the nature of being a football supporter.
They will be turning out to gloat but they must remember they are not totally out of the woods themselves.
For ourselves, it’s been a disappointing season and when the team has only that match. We’ve been tunnel-vision on this game since we came back from a couple of days off and we really need the points.
“It will be even sweeter if we beat our big rivals to get those points.” won once since October in the league, it’s an awfully big ask. Even winning all five games would guarantee nothing.
It’s hard to see us doing it. We’re not scoring many goals and not getting many clean sheets.
If we were to win and Dundee were to lose this weekend, it would certainly hand Caley Thistle a boost. It’ll be interesting to see how Dundee react to sacking Paul Hartley.
Caley Jags winning and Dundee losing perhaps gives us a slight chance but that strikes me as being unlikely.
Maybe that’s just several months of pessimism after seeing the team unable to win throughout most of the campaign. Greg Tansey believes securing Premiership survival would be a perfect farewell gift for his Inverness team-mates before he leaves this summer.
The English midfielder has signed a pre-contract with Aberdeen and will move to Pittodrie once this campaign comes to an end. But Tansey, 28, who won a Scottish Cup with Caley Thistle in 2014, wants to leave on a high.
Richie Foran’s men are five points adrift at the bottom of the table with only five games to go.
Tansey, however, is not ready to give up on his club’s hopes just yet.
He said: “It was a tough decision to leave here. I’ve got a lot of friends at the club and in the dressing room. It’s a place I’ve grown fond of – but a new challenge presented itself and, after a long couple of weeks thinking about it, I made my decision.
“I’ve been at the club nearly three-and-a-half years and they know I’m
“I’ll be doing everything I can to keep us up”
not going to down tools. I don’t want to leave here with a relegation. I’ll be doing everything I can to keep us up.”
Tonight’s Highland derby with Ross County at Dingwall is the start of Inverness’ make-or-break bottom-six run-in.
Tansey believes the atmosphere generated by their showdown with their local rivals will be just what his team-mates need as they bid to turn up the heat on closest rivals Dundee.
“The atmosphere is always good in these games,” said the former Stockport player. “Although it’s a small ground, it’s compact and we always take good support.
“Behind the goal is always full and you can hear them all game. They’re always good occasions to play in and I think it’s one the lads relish. We’re playing the day before all the other sides in the bottom six, so it gives us the opportunity to put pressure on the teams above us.”