Form Teams Meet

21 January 2012 11:57
The game in Inverness could be a cracker with both Caley Thistle and Hearts on good runs

Terry Butcher is hoping his side continue their recent form and deliver a home win over Hearts today. However, Butcher knows his side will have to overcome a double injury blow to make it happen. Following a 1-0 win in the SPL at Motherwell last week, Caley ran out 3-1 winners after extra time over Dunfermline in their Scottish Cup fourth-round replay at East End Park on Wednesday night. This extended the Highlanders unbeaten run to five games. However, the midweek game in Fife came at a price. Defender Roman Golobart picked a grade three ankle sprain while midfielder Andrew Shinnie broke a bone in his foot, with both players set to be out for weeks. The Caley manager said: "It has been an unbelievable week and we want to finish it on a high by making it three wins in a week. We wanted to make an impact through January and we certainly have done half the job so we want to finish the job with a couple of wins at the end of the month to see where we are then. There has been a lot of travelling this week, to Motherwell last weekend and Dunfermline, and we were pleased with the two wins but it has come at a heavy price so there has been mixed feelings. Roman Golobart is going to be out for probably eight to 10 weeks with a grade three ankle sprain. It is very severe and he will have a scan when the swelling goes down. Andrew Shinnie is probably worse. He has broken his fifth metatarsal on his left foot and he will have to see a specialist to see if he needs an operation. We are all devastated because both of them have been outstanding for us this season. Lee Cox also had to come off with a calf strain so he will be out for the weekend at least."  Butcher jokingly challenged Jambos manager Paulo Sergio to name the Caley team. He said: "If Paulo Sergio can guess my line-up I will give him every penny I've got. Unless he has inside information which I don't think he will get. We will see who is available. I normally name the team on a Friday but I want to see exactly who is fit." Butcher is looking for his side's growing spirit to see them through against the Gorgie side who are in fine form. He said: "We know we haven't played particularly well in the last five games yet we have been resilient, a tougher team to beat and been more ruthless at both ends. This shows we are far more united than at the start of the season which we said would happen. The players know each other better, their strengths and weaknesses, and we will need that on Saturday. I still say the best is yet to come from us and if that is the case then we are certainly looking up."

Source: FOOTYMAD