Captain says that it is time for Inverness Caley Thistle attackers to step up
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Inverness Caledonian Thistle record scorer Billy Mckay believes the club’s forward players must step up to fire the team up the Championship table over the closing weeks of the season.
The Caley Jags are the joint-second lowest scorers in the division this season, with Mckay their top scorer with eight league goals.
There are no shortage of different attacking options in the Highland capital, though, and the ICT captain feels the unit have a responsibility to rediscover their scoring boots.
“Alex Samuel came in and hit the ground running straight away, giving us a presence up front,” he said.
“Aribim (Pebble) has come in from Luton and he’s making a difference when he comes on.
“We’ve got Adam Brooks, Aaron Doran and Aussie Samuels too, so we’ve got plenty of firepower. We do a lot of shooting during the week and a lot of working on our patterns.
“You can see they’re there, we just need that final touch in the box. We’ve got to take it upon ourselves as attacking players to really step up in the last eight games of the season.
“Bad runs will end eventually. You’ve just got to get into the right positions and do the right habits.
“I would say the same to the younger lads – practice the right habits, and it will come.”
Mckay’s role has changed somewhat under Duncan Ferguson, dropping deeper to link up play.
That means he is both further away from goal, and has more running to do up and down the pitch – something that could potentially have a big impact on the 35-year-old.
Mckay is confident in his own fitness to cope, though, and happy to embrace the new challenge.
“Fitness-wise, it’s no problem, which is a bit surprising,” he added.
“A couple of years ago I was thinking my fitness wasn’t quite what it used to be, but since the gaffer came in I’ve been feeling brilliant.
“He has asked me to play a different role – and I think people recognise that. I’m playing deeper and trying to link the play instead of leading the line, and I probably end up running more than I used to.
“I feel good and – touch-wood – I’ve been good with injuries. I just want to help the team as much as I can, even if that is creating a goal now instead of scoring – but I still want to chip in with a few too.”
