Terry Butcher out to erase memories of cup loss

INVERNESS manager Terry Butcher is looking to secure more good times following the pain of their semi-final defeat and has added another young loan player to freshen up his squad.

QPR wide midfielder Jordan Gibbons, 19, has signed until the end of the season and is expected to feature in the squad for tonight’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League game against St Mirren in Paisley.

Inverness has signed defenders Danny Devine from Fleetwood and Charlie Taylor, on loan from Leeds, already this month and yesterday loaned midfielder Gavin Morrison to Elgin City until the end of the campaign.

Butcher said: “Jordan signed a new two-year deal at QPR on Monday which allowed us to get him. He’s exciting and explosive, very quick, very jinky.

“We have got options in wide areas and up front. He has got pace as well. Charlie has played for Leeds and has been out on loan at Bradford and York. He has a sweet left foot and gives us cover for Graeme Shinnie but he can play up front as well. They are young kids but they are keen to play.

“I can’t really sign experienced players because I can’t guarantee them games but these youngsters can feel their way into the squad and I’m sure they will make valuable contributions.” Butcher was visibly hurting after Saturday’s defeat on penalties to ten-man Hearts in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final but has quickly focused on maintaining second spot in the SPL. “The players are itching to get back out playing,” he said. “We had a good chat on Monday. We all learnt a lot from it, it was a great experience for us..”

St Mirren manager Danny Lennon, meanwhile, has warned his players to forget the Scottish Communities League Cup final in March and focus on pushing for a rally away from second-bottom spot of the SPL tonight.

St Mirren fans have been revelling in Sunday’s stunning 3-2 semi-final win over Celtic but Lennon has been trying to maintain normality.

“It is fantastic to be in the final but we have to focus on the immediate future.

“All that happened was that the boys came in with a bigger smile on their face and a bigger bounce in their step. It’s a normal working week, the boys who played did their recovery and the boys who didn’t trained.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming Inverness who, for many people at this minute in time, are the team of the season.”