Butcher calls for focus

Inverness manager Terry Butcher has urged his players to treat the visit of Queen's Park just as they would if it was their return to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Inverness open their competitive season against the amateur side at home on Saturday in the first round of the Co-operative Insurance Cup. Butcher is not one to stand for complacency and the former Motherwell manager is even more wary given the match comes two weeks before his team start their SPL campaign.

Butcher told BBC Scotland: "Just go back 12 months when we played Montrose in the Challenge Cup. We drew 1-1 after 120 minutes and then scraped through on penalties. That gave us a scare."

He added: "We know Queen's Park will come here with nothing to lose. Gardner Speirs knows the Highlands very well during his time as manager of Ross County, and they will be buoyed by their win over Livingston last week.

"We want to make sure we prepare just like it was an SPL game."

Butcher, who is hoping to secure international clearance for Frenchman Kenny Gillet to make his debut, added: "I was at Motherwell when we lost to St Mirren, who were a First Division club at the time. It's not nice.

"These are always difficult games, particularly in this case because it comes very early in the pre-season preparations. We don't start our SPL season for another two weeks."

Butcher's side won their last nine league games before collecting the Irn-Bru First Division trophy and he will do everything to make sure that winning mentality remains.

"The last time we played here we lifted the First Division trophy," the former England captain said.

"Rod Stewart was playing here as well the last time I was here for a big event. There were 19,000 people on the pitch that night. The atmosphere might be slightly flatter but we want to have good memories again."