The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
End is nigh for Inverness after long, hard season
The end of this season is nearly in sight, for which we should be grateful.
In recent days I have found it hard to find a single Caley Thistle supporter who really fancies the team’s chances of Premiership survival. The split has now come and those Caley Thistle supporters who headed to Dingwall last night arrived wondering if their club’s luck would change. It’s not that luck has very much to do with where Caley Thistle are today but it’s well known that local derbies can throw up some funny results, which gave the visiting supporters a bit of hope.
There was more than a hint of curiosity in the air, too, to see what effect the coaching skills of Maurice Malpas may have had these past few days.
I was as surprised as anyone else when Malpas was appointed to the coaching staff last week. It struck me as both late and desperate with his place in the club’s chain of command unclear.
Yet, he does know the club well from his time at Inverness with Terry Butcher. It’s hard, though, to imagine Terry and Mo tolerating a team defending the way Inverness have done this season.
Ross County supporters will be relishing their local rivals’ predicament. Football can be a cruel business at times and every supporter of every team likes nothing better than to gloat.
I don’t believe Caley Thistle and Ross County need each other but, financially, having each other in the same league is undoubtedly beneficial.
That time may be coming to an end.
Losing at Dingwall last night was pretty disastrous. I thought a draw was the most likely result but clearly this pessimist was being a bit too optimistic. With just four fixtures to go the nails are now drilling into the coffin. Caley Thistle remain a team in dreadful trouble.