CROCK & ROLL SHOW
Duffy says Caley Thistle will put pain to one side to avoid play-off agony
WALLACE DUFFY insists Duncan Ferguson’s caley Thistle charges will play through the pain barrier to push for the promotion play-offs.
Inverness remain in the relegation play-off spot despite a win that brought Morton’s 16-game unbeaten run to a shuddering halt.
But they are just two points behind Dunfermline in fifth and now only seven adrift of Ton in fourth.
Caley Thistle have a lengthy injury list, one Duffy only came off last midweek to face Dunfermline despite a calf issue.
But with their squad stretched to the limit, Duffy’s determined to help to make a late run for the top four.
He said: “People are playing through the pain barrier.
“Everyone is carrying niggles. No one is 100 per cent, although that’s often the case in football.
“But the boys know they’ve got to dig in and do it for their team-mates and the club.
“It happens to other teams as well and we’ve just got to brave it out.
“I’d been out for three weeks with a persistent calf problem that I’ve had since I’ve been at Caley. We’ve been trying to get to the bottom of it and I’ve been in the gym for three weeks.
“I had to get rushed back as we are toiling for people.
“I only trained once before the Dunfermline game but had to come in and do a job.
“I got 90 minutes in my legs and I was fine for Morton. You have to dig in and everyone has to play their part.
“There is no point looking at it all doom and gloom and saying we’re down at the bottom – we’re two points off fifth and seven off fourth.
“We’ve got nine games left, 27 points to play for and I’ve seen stranger things happen,
“I’ve seen bigger points gaps being turned over.
“Even Partick in third, if you want to be an optimist, are only nine points.
“And we’ve got to play these teams once more, so anything can happen. All you need to do is string three or four wins together and we’ll be on a charge for promotion.
“But if you lose games, you’ll be down there. If you win games, you’ll be up there.”
Inverness went ahead just 77 seconds in through Billy Mckay before loan star Sean McAllister doubled their advantage with a first-half free-kick.
And their defence kept Morton at bay to record just a fifth clean sheet this term.
Ton’s Jack Bearne says they are determined to get back to winning ways tomorrow against Dundee United.
Bearne said: “You can’t win every game and we’ve been unbelievable – the gaffer, all the players – up until this point.
“It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get a result. Now we’ve got another big game against Dundee United and we want to try to rectify what happened against Inverness and get back on a winning run.
“We are still in a strong position in the league. We want to try to win every match and put this behind us.”