Inverness Caley Thistle head coach Scott Kellacher expresses sympathy for former Kelty Hearts boss Charlie Mulgrew ahead of two clubs clashing in Highland capital
Caley Thistle head coach Scott Kellacher says he has sympathy with the situation former Kelty Hearts manager Charlie Mulgrew found himself in ahead of the two clubs facing off in the Highland capital this weekend.
He previously had gained some coaching experience with Hamilton Academical’s youth team, but stepped up to a senior top job in January.
That was only three months after Kellacher himself had stepped into the hot seat for the first time after decades of working his way up through community and youth coaching to being the assistant manager at the Caledonian Stadium.
Kellacher, then, feels for the situation Mulgrew was in, but insists he can only focus on preparing the Caley Jags as best he can for this weekend’s fixture.
“It’s a hard thing to come in as a young manager and try to establish yourself, and get your own ideas across,” Kellacher reasoned.
“I really feel for him. It’s not a nice thing at all, but I just have to try and focus on what we do and make sure that we are prepared and ready to go for Saturday.
"If Kelty appoint someone, they might come in with their own ideas, which makes you wonder what they're going to do and how they're going to play.
"We know how they have played in the last few weeks, but that's why it is important to focus on ourselves.
"It's not just another game, it's massive, so we need to grab the bull by the horns on Saturday.
"Whoever comes in at Kelty, it might mean their players will get a lift. We'll just focus on what we do and what we're all about, and hopefully we can get a good result on Saturday.”
Opponents like Kelty Hearts have proven tough for ICT to deal with in recent weeks.
Ahead of a win over title contenders Cove Rangers last time out, Inverness had recorded frustrating results against Annan Athletic and Alloa Athletic, before being well beaten away at Queen of the South.
Compared to those disappointing outcomes, then, Kellacher is looking for one key area of improvement.
“We just need to put the ball in the back of the net,” he added.
“We did that last week, which was important. Against Cove we had nine or 10 shots and took three of them, but against Alloa and Annan combined we were mid-30s in terms of shots at goal and we never took one.
“It’s having that bit of belief and freedom to go and express ourselves, and also probably some players being a bit more selfish to take a shot instead of looking for that extra pass.
“The boys know what is required, and we’ve worked hard this week, so we’ll be looking to go and stamp our authority on the game this Saturday.
“Winning games breeds confidence, I think we all know that. It’s going to be a tough run in, but the boys know what they are capable of so they need to believe in themselves.”