Youth Policy Pays Off

Last updated : 30 April 2011 By Ed_ScottishFitba

invernessInverness manager Terry Butcher believes the innocence of youth will be the key as he aims for his side to finish in seventh place in the SPL. Butcher's midfield on Monday night had a an average age of less than 20 as Inverness won 3-0 against St Johnstone. Butcher was impressed by the efforts of Lee Cox, Nick Ross, Aaron Doran and Shane Sutherland and they look set to continue against Aberdeen at Pittodrie today. Inverness moved four points clear of Hibs at the top of the bottom half of the SPL with their win in Perth and Butcher feels his young players can carry them to their target of being the best of the rest. Butcher said: "The young midfield excited me. You feel you have a chance if you have got young kids out there giving it their all. That's the key at the end of the season. Young players don't have fear or worry about contracts or the future, they just play the game and play for now." 
 
The win in Perth followed draws against Kilmarnock and Hearts and Butcher has challenged his players to stay unbeaten until the end of the season. He went on: "It's the key to the whole season, a lot of little runs where you're going unbeaten for five games, these machine-gun bursts where you're going up the league. You pick the groups of games where you say 'let's go for it'. That gives you a focus. We have done that throughout the season and now we want to complete the job. For us to finish seventh in our first season back in the Premier League would be a magnificent achievement, and that's what we want to do. The way the boys have played shows they want that seventh spot - they are determined to do that." 
 
Inverness lost at home to Craig Brown's Aberdeen in January which was some sort of revenge for the Highland club beating the Dons twice earlier in the season when they were managed by Mark McGhee. Butcher said of Aberdeen under the veteran manager: "There has definitely been improvement, no doubt about that. He has kept them up well and they have unfortunately had Celtic twice in cup competitions, like ourselves. They fell short and we fell short. But there's a lot of good young players in the Aberdeen side."