Player power in Inverness showed that players can deliver when given some responsiblity

Terry Butcher and his assistant Maurice Malpas are looking forward to putting their feet up in future and letting the players decide what formation Inverness should play. The players suggested the formation for yesterday's 6-3 win at Kilmarnock which goes to show that sometimes giving people responsibility adds that incentive to deliver on their promises. After a frustrating Friday night training session,  Butcher was far from convinced that his players should continue playing in a 4-3-3 formation. However, his players were keen to make the system work and did so in style when they ran riot at Rugby Park after going a goal down. Dean Shiels opened the scoring for the home side against the run of play but Andrew Shinnie levelled just before the break and completed a four-goal spree from the visitors in 13 second half minutes. Jonny Hayes had put Inverness in front with a brilliant goal and Gregory Tade scored twice as Inverness repeatedly exposed an open Kilmarnock rearguard. Killie did get a couple of late goals back through Shiels and Paul Heffernan but bottom club Inverness could have scored more as they secured their first away win of the season much to the delight of Butcher.
 
Butcher said: "We had the worst training session on Friday imaginable. It was a beautiful sunny day, no wind at all. We went 4-3-3 to match them up and the players were absolutely rubbish. We sat down at the end of it and we asked them: 'What system do you want to play?' They said they wanted to go 4-3-3 and play like they did last week. We said 'fine'. So in two weeks' time, me and Maurice are going to go to the pub and the players can pick the team." Butcher had been "incredulous" after the 3-2 reverse at home to Motherwell the previous week after dominating. His had been a consistent voice saying Inverness deserved better from their season so far. He said: "In all seriousness, they were very committed to repeating the performance of last week. We felt very aggrieved we didn't get anything from the game and they wanted to show that. We pressed them high up the pitch, won the ball back and were very incisive, particularly in the second half. When we got a couple of quick goals, Kilmarnock had to come out and press us. We defended well at times and we were able to pick them off. The boys were ruthless. There was some incredible play. Andrew Shinnie had the best game of his career. He nearly signed for Kilmarnock. He was here in pre-season on trial and we managed to pinch him and I'm glad we did." Talking to the press with a celebratory a bottle of lager in hand, Butcher added: "I thought I was in a time warp. It was 40 years ago when I used to watch games like that. It could have been 9-4 or 9-5. It gives coaches a nightmare because we still conceded three goals, we're still bottom of the league yet we've won 6-3. That's why I drink. What else can you do?"

Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels blamed naive mistakes for the manner of the defeat when left-back Rory McKeown allowed Hayes room to score Caley Thistle's second and got too close to Tade on the halfway line before the fourth. Another teenage full-back, Alex Pursehouse, gifted possession to Shinnie for the third but Shiels defended his decision to bring on wingers David Silva and James Dayton as Killie chased the game. Shiels said: "A bit like Manchester United against City, we go gung-ho and try to get ourselves back into it and leave holes at the back. When you're goals down you look at trying to get back in the game. The trade-off is in the defence where you push forward. You have to try and get back in the game and we got punished for it."