Kilmarnock 3 - 6 Inverness CT: Caley kept self belief after ‘some kicks in the teeth’ says hat-trick hero

Inverness handed out the resounding win that manager Terry Butcher has insisted was coming during a start to the season that has been undermined by injuries and an inability to convert possession into goals.

Caley Thistle bounced back from conceding a 13th-minute goal against the run of play, when Paul Heffernan’s backheel allowed Dean Shiels time and space to stroke home.

The visitors created all the other first-half chances, with Kilmarnock goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola making several good stops, but Shinnie eventually levelled in the 39th minute with a smart finish following a one-two with the returning Jonny Hayes.

Hayes fired them ahead from 25 yards before Gregory Tade and Shinnie finished with aplomb after Killie had been exposed at the back.

Shinnie grabbed his hat-trick after the impressive David Davis had powered his way through the heart of the home defence.

Shiels, from the penalty spot, and Heffernan pulled goals back, but Inverness remained in control with Tade making it six following Shinnie’s reverse pass.

Inverness remain bottom of the league but they are only five points off the top six and are confident of progressing. Shinnie said: “The manager has been telling us to realise our potential, he has told us all season what we have got in the changing room.

“We have been playing well and not taking our chances. We have been saying for weeks that a game like this has been coming. We’ve been playing good football and maybe we don’t get the plaudits we deserve.

“A lot of other teams get plaudits for being good footballing teams but we are every bit as good as any other team in this league and it’s just about showing it and taking our chances. We have never lost belief. We have had some kicks in the teeth but we are big enough to get over it. We have been working on our finishing in training and it paid dividends. I’m sure from now we’ll kick on and get up the table.”

Butcher has kept confidence high among his players throughout their spell at the bottom and he is sure they can move up the table. “I told the lads a story, they usually fall asleep, from many years ago when I was with Ipswich, I think it was ’82-83,” he said.

“We had finished runners-up for two seasons but we were bottom of the league in October. We had a night out with the lads and played Notts County away and won 6-0 and our season took off. This was never going to be 6-0 but we still knocked in a lot of goals which I feel we have been very capable of doing – we’ve had a lot of chances in a lot of games. We haven’t been ruthless but today we were at times, although we missed chances because Kilmarnock had to come out.”

Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels admitted defensive naivety and going “gung-ho” had contributed to the scoreline.

Shiels described it as a “freak day” with everything finally falling into place for Inverness, but the visitors created a number of other chances and Caley Thistle goalkeeper Ryan Esson did not have a serious save to make apart from the three goals.

Shiels did admit the defeat was a reality check for his side. “It’s hard to take for everyone because we have been doing quite well the last four or five games,” he said. “But then the expectations of the players and club and supporters fall into that trap that ‘we’re not too bad’.

“We’re seventh and it’s such a tight bunch. Inverness are not a bottom of the league team and we’re certainly not a top-six team at the moment. That’s a fair reflection, they were the better side. We have to get our act together and prepare for the next game and try to recover some confidence.”