Caley Jags second bite in Lions’ den

Billy Dodds is urging Caley Thistle to cut out the mistakes to give themselves a fighting chance of knocking Premiership Livingston out of the Scottish Cup today.

The Inverness head coach takes his Championship team to West Lothian for their fifthround showdown with the top flight’s fourth-placed side.

Caley Thistle were handed a reprieve in the national trophy after second-tier rivals Queen’s Park fielded an ineligible player in their 2-0 fourthround win against the Highlanders.

The error, picked up initially by Inverness club secretary Fiona McWilliams, led to Caley Thistle being given a chance against Livi to make the last eight.

Two sloppy goals were leaked against Queen’s Park during the cup-tie and weak defending helped Morton draw 2-2 at Inverness in the league last weekend.

Dodds insists his players must produce a confident, clean performance if they are to have a chance of winning for a second time at Almondvale this season, having won 2-1 there in the League Cup back in July, and reaching the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

He said: “We have made mistakes in our last two games and have to cut that out.

“That affects confidence and that’s why I want a high-energy performance.

“Sometimes confidence affects that and we could see that a wee bit against Morton after what happened against Queen’s Park.

“We must ensure we’re solid at the back and play with a nice pace and tempo.

“I think a lot of people have written us off.

“Because Queen’s Park beat us, people think Livingston will do the same, but bring it on.”

Caley Thistle, who are one point outside the Championship promotion play-off places thanks to a five-game unbeaten run, were Scottish Cup winners eight years ago.

Dodds, who was this week named January’s Championship manager of the month, insists the chance to edge out Livi and be paired with an even bigger gun in the next round is a driving motivation for his squad.

He said: “Everything comes with this tie – the finance, the opportunity.

“If we do create a cup upset then there will be opportunity to draw a big team in front of a large crowd and that brings in more finance.

“It was a hard-fought cup-tie against Queen’s Park. They didn’t play us off the pitch. They did well to beat us 2-0, but it took two late goals to do that.

“We’re just grateful we’ve got a second opportunity.”

Dodds, meanwhile, provided an update on Ben Woods, the former Manchester United academy midfielder, who signed last month, but has only made one sub appearance, in the 0-0 league draw against Queen’s Park.

The manager added: “Ben has picked up an ankle injury and I feel for him, because he has never had an injury and then he got clattered in training.

“We are hoping to have him back in two weeks. It’s frustrating.”

NO MARGIN FOR ERROR: Billy Dodds has told his side to cut the mistakes to cause a cup upset.