TERRY Butcher claims Inverness Caledonian Thistle have no shortage of enemies who would love to see them crash out of the Premier League this weekend.
The Inverness club face a day of destiny on Saturday as they go head-to-head with Falkirk, needing a point to avoid final-day disaster. Defeat would bring an end to the club's proud five-year spell in the top flight, and Butcher believes more than a
few within the Scottish game would be quietly gloating.
The former Rangers and England defender has nothing but contempt for the ill-wishers and attributes the antipathy to one simple factor – geography.
"I know there are certain people within Scottish football who would love to see this club drop out of the SPL," he said. "They don't like the time it takes to travel up here and I'm sick and fed up hearing people whining about it. Few people consider the amount of travelling our players have to do in a season. Only last week, we were down to Motherwell and Kilmarnock in the space of four days. We got back from Fir Park in the early hours of the morning and were back in for training the next day, then off again soon after.
"Our lads just get on with it and they are pretty incredible, really. Some of them have been doing it for a long time and, when I first saw them boarding the team bus for an away trip, I thought I'd stumbled on a group of Scandinavian back-packers. They all had their packs, pillows, duvets and what have you to make the journey more comfortable.
"You rarely hear anybody up here whingeing about the travelling every fortnight or so but, for some, it's an excuse to wish us ill. But it's a poor excuse and I'm getting pretty sick of it. They should remember when they come up here they always get a good welcome, while also getting to see a beautiful part of the country."
Butcher admits he will be using the "nobody likes us, we don't care" element as part of his motivation this week. The Highlanders have always tended to produce their best when they perceive the world is against them, not least in the early days of their SPL existence. Back then, after an opening-day hammering by Livingston, they were roundly written off as no-hopers, but bounced back to challenge for the top six in each of their first four seasons.
Butcher said: "Caley Thistle have been in the SPL a while now and, since I've come in, I have realised that without doubt they deserve to be there. I'll certainly be using the fact people want us to go down to motivate the players this week. But I'm not planning anything different with the players apart from trying to keep their minds fresh and sharp. We have to keep them focused on the task in hand.
"There is pressure being in the position we are, but that's something we've been dealing with since I first came, so it's nothing new in that sense. The players are used to it and have shown they can handle it. We were bottom of the league for a long time this season but that hasn't been the case for a while now and we need to keep it like that on Saturday.
"It has been a tough spell, but with a couple of days rest I'm sure the lads will be raring to go."
The full article contains 595 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
