TERRY Butcher believes Caley Thistle can complete a remarkable turnaround in their Clydesdale Bank SPL season as they close in on the top six.
If Inverness CT beat visitors St Mirren on Saturday, they will overtake them in the league and put genuine pressure on Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Dundee United as the race for the top six hots up.
Last weekend's 1-0 win against Hearts - courtesy of a Shane Sutherland winner - makes it six unbeaten in all competitions for ICT.
With Celtic visiting the Highlands for the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup in just over a week, it's exciting times for the Caley Jags.
With injuries causing major headaches to Butcher, he made seven changes to the team on Saturday following their midweek 3-1 extra-time Scottish Cup triumph at Dunfermline and ICT boss Butcher could barely be happier with their rise up from the bottom spot which they occupied for so long earlier this season.
He explained: "We know what's at stake on Saturday, as other teams do. It's very tight in the middle of the table. We are just two points off the top six and that's where we want to get to. We've got 10 points out of the last 12 in the SPL and got two consecutive SPL clean sheets. I am very pleased about that.
"I have always been pleased with this squad, but even more so with those who came in last week and done exceptionally well. You look at Nick Ross, for example. He ran his heart out and was running on memory and everyone kept going. When you are winning and playing well you find that extra bit of energy from somewhere.
"Even when we were bottom of the league, the boys always had belief in themselves. It's taken a little while to get to a happy understanding and realising what we have here. The squad has now gelled and is now looking seamless. When you change the team around, but someone gets injured or drops out, someone else comes in and does that job well. They know what they have to do.
"We have also been banging the goals in. Scoring at Ibrox, even although we lost, was the beginning of our great run. That performance seemed to stimulate everyone and we haven't looked back."
Reflecting on the win against Hearts in howling wind and rain, he added: "I thought we adapted to the conditions very well. They went out there with one thing on their mind - to battle and they did that. There was also a lot of quality on the ball, we passed it well, even against the wind in the second half when we made one or two opportunities, as well as the goal.
"On chances alone, we deserved to win the game. I was very pleased with everybody. We had a good shape to the team, considering that team had never played together before - I thought they were excellent.
"Only Josh Meekings was inexperienced in the back four. Steve Williams has massive experience - more than 100 games with Bradford City, David Proctor and Kenny Gillet we already know about. From that side of things, it wasn't that much of a gamble."
He added: "In terms of the front four, I thought we'd give Billy McKay a rest. He's done ever so well, while we asked Jonny Hayes, Gregory Tade and Richie Foran. These guys have got hearts as big as buckets. I asked the front four to be fluid. I said that they could be out of their starting position, but make it work. It was the shape of the front four I wanted to keep. It didn't matter where they were within that front area, as long as they kept their shape. Jonny played up front, wide, on the left and on the right - and every other player in attack did the same. These players made it work very well."
Butcher also praised match-winner Shane Sutherland and tipped him for a bright future.
He said: "Shane played very well and he should be lifted by his performance. He's a good boy and he's got the lot. I believe in Shane - he could be a special player for us."
ICT should be largely unchanged for this weekend. Although Aaron Doran has returned to training, he's more likely to come into contention for the cup-tie against Celtic a week on Saturday.
