The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Robertson: Caley Jags need points at all costs
● Boss says Highlanders need to start turning draws into wins
Caley Thistle manager John Robertson insists points must take priority over performances in Inverness’ efforts to return to winning ways in the Championship.
Inverness have dropped to sixth in the table following Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Queen of the South at Caledonian Stadium, in which the Highlanders conceded twice inside the last seven minutes to squander their one-goal lead through on-form midfielder Tom Walsh.
Following back-to-back defeats against Ross County and Queens, Inverness face a difficult task in their attempts to bounce back, with second-placed Ayr United their visitors on Saturday.
Robertson says his players must be prepared to scrap out a victory by any means and he said: “As a manager the result is always the first thing. You will take a poor performance and three points every day of the week.The ideal scenario is you’ll have a very good performance and three points. That’s what we need to do now.
“We’ve had a lot of good performances this season, but we have not capitalised on them by missing chances at one end and losing soft goals at the other.
“That’s why we are where we are, on 26 points, because we have not turned our draws into victories.
“We need to now look at that aspect of turning those games that are 1-1 with 10 minutes to go into wins. It’s as simple and straightforward as that.”
Robertson remains encouraged by his side’s recent performances but he is disappointed his side has failed to translate them into more points in the way some of their Championship rivals – including Saturday’s opponents Ayr – have done so. Robertson feels a strong run of results will go a long way given the inconsistency of results elsewhere.
He added: “We are still playing good football and we don’t lose many games, but we want to win more.
“That’s the difference between ourselves and Ayr United at the moment, and to a lesser extent Dundee United. They have shown the consistency – in games we have drawn, they have managed to win.
“Ross County got a late winner at Alloa when we drew 0-0, and it’s games like that which make a massive difference.
“That’s where Ayr, Ross County and Dundee United should be congratulated because they have turned those draws into wins.
“From Dunfermline up to Morton, we are all eyeing the fourth spot, while there are three teams below that scrapping it out, but everybody is capable.
“Any team that puts together a good run will get to a good area in the table. That’s what we need to do.”