French winger joins Inverness as Terry Butcher lauds ‘Blitz’ spirit

Published on Saturday 28 January 2012 05:02

INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle last night signed Frenchman Claude Gnakpa, a winger who can also operate in defence, on a short-term deal from Walsall until the end of the season.

Manager Terry Butcher told the club’s website: “I have been tracking Claude for a good number of years, but never managed to get him so we’re very pleased that he has flown north and put pen to paper.

“He’s big, strong and pacy and can score goals, so he will be a very exciting asset to the club. Claude joins Kenny Gillet and Gregory Tade to give us a triple French influence in our squad. Having already landed striker Sam Winnall from Wolves on loan, it gives us more depth in a pool which has continuously been depleted by serious injuries.”

After beating Hearts last week, Inverness go into today’s home game against St Mirren lying tenth in the SPL but just two points behind Dundee United in sixth, and they have also been boosted by the arrival of striker Winnall on loan for the rest of the season.

Butcher is impressed by the growing strength of the squad, and the general sense of unity around the club.

“It was a club win (over Hearts) more than anything else because everybody chipped in to get the game on and it was wonderful to see,” the former England defender said.

“I never lived through the Blitz but I imagine it would be like that – everyone mucked in and if there was a job to do, they did it. Everyone had a fantastic attitude and over the 90 minutes we thoroughly deserved it.”

Butcher could keep faith with his winning line-up against St Mirren. His injury problems have eased slightly with Aaron Doran back in training after a shoulder injury. However, defender Roman Golobart is sidelined with an ankle sprain and midfielder Andrew Shinnie remains out with a metatarsal problem.

Meanwhile, St Mirren manager Danny Lennon has bemoaned the loss of star midfielder Kenny McLean who has been ruled out for six weeks after breaking his collarbone in training.

“It is very disappointing,” said Lennon. “Kenny has been doing terrifically well for us and he will be a sad loss over the period he misses. He picked up the injury at training when he landed after a collision and that is just part and parcel of the game But he’s young and it seems a straightforward healing process so we wish him a speedy recovery.”

Lennon believes the fixture list over the next couple of months will allow his side to get back on track and secure a top-six place.

A 2-0 defeat at home to Celtic last week left them looking back to their shock Christmas Eve win over Rangers at St Mirren Park for their last three points.

However, Lennon says he has targeted this period of the season as the ideal time to make a serious push for a top-half finish. “If you had asked me at the beginning of the season to take this position – just one point off the top six – I would have grabbed it with both hands,” he said “The next eight games against clubs around us before we meet Rangers will have a big bearing on where we end up.”

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