Quite what the powers that be were thinking when they handed us this one is anyone's guess. If I was as paranoid as an Old Firm fan, I'd point out the man in charge of creating the fixtures supports Morton - but I'm not, so I won't. We just have to put up with it, deal with it and hope we can come out of it with some points.
History suggests there's more chance of that coming tomorrow than Tuesday - mainly because we're awful at Pittodrie, rather than any good in Inverness. Admittedly, things have gotten better since we were both playing in the SPL (and Caley Thistle got rid of Paul Ritchie). We've won there three times - including on the opening day of the 2006 season - and lost there just as often, which isn't too bad a record at all. Another entry in the W column tomorrow would be greatly appreciated, although Caley Thistle's fantastic win over Celtic on Wednesday night means they'll be going into this one on a high. It is worth noting, however, that when they first went ballistic 11 years ago they played us a few days later - and we won.
The need for Saints taking victory tomorrow was made even greater by the events of Monday afternoon. We were awful and Hamilton decent, meaning the gap is now down to six points with just three games left. Things are very much still in our hands, however what happened a few days ago will surely have the doubts creeping in while giving Hamilton confidence. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that Hamilton could go into the last game of the season level on points with us, but we have two chances to make sure that doesn't happen and we must take them.
Part of the problem on Monday was that the tactics were all wrong. There will be changes tomorrow, but not really ones we wanted to see as Jure Travner is suspended after his stupid red card and Hugh Murray is out for the rest of the season. David Barron is the most obvious choice to replace Travner, but he seems to be out of favour at the moment so it'll probably be John Potter who starts. Likewise, Kenny McLean is the obvious replacement for Shuggy - so expect to see Paddy Cregg in midfield.
Whatever the team, we must go into this game with a different approach. Do not play for a draw. Inverness Caley Thistle have nothing to play for so will almost certainly attack as they look to finish on a high. We must do likewise and if we don't get the points we need tomorrow, it can't be for lack of trying. We must focus on our own result, rather than worrying about what Hamilton do against Hibs
Despite being a bit of a Rangers and England legend, I quite like Terry Butcher. His post match comments are usually quite funny and he's one of the few managers to come out and publicly slate the SPL's ridiculous ideas for league reconstruction. He's also a pretty handy manager in the SPL. Yes, he couldn't stop Caley Thistle getting relegated in 2009 (when we stayed up by two goals) but he led them back up the following season and they've been terrific this year. I'm quite surprised we're playing them as I'd assumed they'd be in the top half of the table after the split and the target for them now must be to finish in seventh place.
Even if they do, they are unlikely to hang on to Adam Rooney. The striker has scored 20 goals this season and forwards who manage that in the SPL are always going to be in high demand - especially if they do it at a club like Caley Thistle. That's not being disrespectful as the same goes for our own Michael Higdon. Hibs have already expressed interest in Rooney although it wouldn't be a surprise to see him head back down south - and SPL defences could breathe a sigh of relief. However, if Richie Foran stays, they won't have much time to relax.
We first played Caley Thistle in a competitive fixture way back in 1999 and I'm fairly sure a number of members of their current squad were playing back then. The much hated Ross Tokely was certainly one of them and hasn't been anywhere else since, while guys like Roy McBain and Grant Munro also seem to have been there forever. This will be their last season as Butcher has decided it is time for them - and Russell Duncan and Stuart Golabek - to move on - but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Tokely hanging around until he retires. Part of me likes to think Munro ran to the Caley Thistle bench making "get it up ye" remarks when he scored against Celtic during the week.
Butcher has gradually been building up to the day he knew he would have to cut the experienced players loose. Johnny Hayes was exceptional in the first half of the season, although doesn't seem to have recaptured his sparkling form since suffering an injury. Youngsters Nick Ross and Graeme Shinnie are also handy and capable of causing problems and another one, Shaune Sutherland, scored the winner against Celtic the other night. At the other end of the scale, Chris Hogg and former Saint Chris Innes have the makings of a solid defensive partnership, although bizarrely Butcher is going to let both of them walk out the door in the summer, while Ryan Esson is a decent keeper.
Follow Mirren Mad on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mirren-Mad/177833938918587
Follow Mirren Mad on Twitter @mirren_mad or http://www.twitter.com/mirren_mad