CHRISTIE HOPING FOR A QUIET REVOLUTION

RYAN CHRISTIE says John Hughes didn’t have to hammer his Caley Thistle players after last Saturday’s calamitous defeat — because they were too busy beating themselves up. The Highlanders’ proud unbeaten home record came crashing down in spectacular style with a 4-0 defeat to Partick Thistle, with Hughes keeping his own recriminations to a restrained minimum afterwards. Talented young midfielder Christie, who came off the bench in the hefty beating, admits the Inverness camp are their own harshest critics. And he reckons the manager called it right by letting the players voice their own unhappiness within the dressing-room walls after the worst display of the season from Hughes’ high-fliers. Christie (right), 19, said: ‘After the match it was all said and done. The lads all knew ourselves we had fallen well short of what we expect of ourselves and the team. ‘But come Monday morning at training, it was all behind us — we knew we had to focus on getting back to winning ways this Saturday at St Johnstone. The manager is never one to go overboard and dwell on what’s done. ‘As soon as the final whistle blows, he’s already looking to the next weekend. ‘It was so disappointing to lose the unbeaten home run but it wasn’t just the Partick display. We were lucky to come away with the three points against Dundee the week before. ‘Maybe what happened was good for us, longerterm, as it might just give us a wee shake-up and remind everyone we still need to be performing at our highest and winning as many games as possible. ‘It’s very hard to keep up the consistency against all the teams in the league, week-in, week-out. But it’s important now, with a run of games coming up, to find a bit of good form.’ Christie, in the midst of his first full season as a favoured first-team player, is hungry to start again after coming on as a substitute in the last three matches. He netted the winner at Dundee the week before the Partick mauling but remained on the bench. However, the son of club legend Charlie is canny enough to know his manager is potentially shielding him from too much too soon. ‘Like all of the lads, I want to help as much as I can,’ he said. ‘But I do feel with the intense run of games coming up the manager is going to have to rotate the squad, purely to keep everyone fresh. It’s important, not just for me but for all the players on the bench, that when we get our chance we show we belong in the starting XI and keep our place. ‘I never really have it in my head that I need a rest, because I’m always wanting to play. ‘But if the manager is wanting to rest me in some games, I wholeheartedly believe he’s doing that because there might be some games he needs to pick a starting XI to just get a job done that might not include me. Whatever team he picks, it’s in everyone’s best interests.’