The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Midfielder bullish in belief Caley Thistle can produce astonishing escape
Caley Thistle midfielder Iain Vigurs reckons there cannot be any complaints if victory against Motherwell today is not enough to avoid automatic relegation from the Premiership.
Inverness must defeat the Steelmen at Caledonian Stadium and hope secondbottom Hamilton Accies, who they trail by a point with an inferior goal difference, do not win at home to Dundee.
Richie Foran’s men have rallied following their humiliating 4-0 derby loss at Ross County on April 28, which left them seven points adrift with only four games remaining, and seemingly destined for the Championship.
Victories against Hamilton and Dundee have given belief to the survival bid, but Vigurs says his side can have no excuses if it falls short following a poor campaign with only six wins in the league.
He said: “After the County game, every one of us would have said it wasn’t good enough. That was the complete opposite of what we stand for as a team.
“But I think we’ve shown over the last couple of weeks what we’re made of.
“We do have strong characters here and need to show that again.
“If we win, we’ve done all we can do. If Hamilton win, fair play to them. We’ll hold our hands up and say we weren’t good enough. The table doesn’t lie. If we get relegated, so be it but we’re going to do it the right way.
“Hopefully, someone up there likes us and gives us the bit of luck we need.”
Foran has urged his players to rest up for their final-day push, however Vigurs is confident fatigue will not be an issue at the end of a draining week, with the possibility of a further two games next week if they can book a place in the relegation play-offs.
The 29-year-old added: “It’s not a concern at all. The lads are fit and can run all day, apart from me, they do all the running around
“We do have strong characters here and need to show that again”
me. But we’re looking strong.
“We’re all ready for it and not one of us, since the final whistle on Wednesday, has said we’ll get beaten on Saturday.
“Everyone believes we are going to win, we’re going to stay in the play-offs and win them.”