Inverness Caley Thistle manager Duncan Ferguson proud of progress being made by club’s breakthrough stars
Duncan Ferguson has hailed Caley Thistle’s callow young set for “growing up fast” in the cut-and-thrust of the SPFL.
The Everton legend has been tasked by the club with turning a mix of untested teenagers, inexperienced 20-somethings and one or two seasoned campaigners into a promotion-winning team.
While they are one of only two full-time outfits in League One, ICT’s playing budget is almost certainly eclipsed by half the teams they will face this season.
Rather than just grinning and bearing it, Ferguson is relishing the challenge but looking under every stone for potential additions, most urgently another striker.
Even with Billy Mckay (35) and Danny Devine (32), the average age of Ferguson’s 17-man squad last Saturday was just above 20 and included eight teenagers and 12 in all who could play under 21s football.
Remove the team’s two granddad figures and the average age plummeted below 18.
Experience aside, Ferguson – preparing to face joint top of the table Alloa tomorrow – feels they are adapting well.
“I think they have had to grow up fast, some of them at least,” he stressed.
“They are in with the men now, coming from youth football a lot of them and are facing all the different demands that entails.
“Physically and mentally that’s demanding on young players, but I think they are standing up to it well and taking a lot on board quickly.
“They are getting their chance, aren’t they? That’s great for any young player and it is good to see they are growing up very quickly.”
Forging their own identity as a side doesn’t happen overnight, particularly given the huge turnover of players in the summer against the backdrop of financial calamity and mismanagement.
“Scoring goals has been a wee bit difficult for us, probably for the last six months,” Ferguson admitted.
“But we have certainly kept a lot of good clean sheets and defensively we have been fantastic for the past year, I’d say.
“Getting three goals in the last game against Stirling, although it was in the cup, gives us a wee bit of extra confidence.
“We’ve lost one game in the league through a penalty that should never have been given.
“We managed to get over the line in the last league game and now we’ve got to go and try to get a result from a really difficult game down at Alloa.”
Caley Thistle have better news on the injury front with goalkeeper Jack Newman back in the squad to challenge the in-form Musa Dibaga, while Luis Longstaff and Keith Bray are also back fit.
“Musa has come in and done fantastically well,” Ferguson added.
“It looks like we have two really good goalkeepers on the books, and a good young one (Szymon Rebilllas) backing them up.”