Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Terry Butcher is relishing the winning feeling again after his side cruised into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup after crushing Morton 5-1 at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.
Butcher made six changes to the side that lost 2-0 against Aberdeen last Saturday, including giving first starts to impressive teenage winger Aaron Doran and defender Chris Hogg - who netted the third goal. Doubles from the Irish duo of Adam Rooney and Richie Foran ensured Inverness had a dominating win against their Scottish First Division counterparts.
"I'm pleased with everybody," said Butcher. "Getting that winning feeling back is nice, although it's in the cup and not the league. It sets us up well for next week and puts a smile back on everybody's faces - even mine."
He added: "The spirit in the dressing room now is buoyant compared to what it was before - not that it was bad, but it's even better now."
Inverness captain Foran opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a low 12-yard drive and Rooney's shot from the edge of the area doubled the lead seven minutes before the interval.
Hogg headed home from the edge of the area after 62 minutes before Rooney nodded in from close range three minutes later.
Derek Lyle notched a consolation on 83 minutes but Foran completed the scoring two minutes later - sealing the Highlanders' second win of 2011 after they beat Elgin City in the previous round of the cup.
Morton manager Allan Moore was upset after his side's six-game unbeaten run ended in such a convincing fashion.
"I'm raging to be honest," he said.
"I'm disappointed with our performance more than anything. We can't come up here, against Premier League opposition, and give away the goals that we did. They were clinical and that's the difference when you step up a division. They put balls in the box and finished them."
Source: PA
