Terry Butcher wants Inverness to begin 2012 "with a bang" and continue their recent unbeaten run in the SPL. Caley Thistle go into Monday's home game against St Johnstone having beaten Aberdeen on Christmas Eve and then drawing with Hibs on Wednesday. Those results have taken Butcher's men onto 19 points; five clear of Dunfermline and four clear of Hibs at the foot of the table. The former England captain is hoping his team can build on that run. He said: "We've equalled our longest sequence of unbeaten games in the SPL, which is two, so we're looking to extend that against St Johnstone. We're up to 19 points now, which is good. We want to get the three points on Monday if we can and it would be seven points out of nine, starting 2012 with a bang. We finished 2011 better than we started it and we're pleased about that." Recent results have come in adversity, with injuries and illness afflicting the squad. Captain Richie Foran is suspended for Monday's game, but defender Ross Tokely and midfielder Andrew Shinnie may return following calf injuries. Tokely is the most likely to be fit of the two injured players. The point at Hibs came after an extended journey to Easter Road which was disrupted by the stormy weather. Butcher praised the character of his squad and is looking forward to fresh challenges in the new year. Butcher added: "They're a great group of lads and deserve a lot of praise. We've had so many hurdles in our way that they've climbed over, round, through and under but we still come out the other side and look forward to the second half of the season with a lot of confidence."
Home Away Team P W D L F A W D L F A GD PTS 1 Celtic 21 9 1 1 24 5 7 1 2 17 10 26 50 2 Rangers 21 7 3 0 18 7 8 0 3 19 5 25 48 3 Motherwell 19 3 3 3 7 9 7 1 2 17 12 3 34 4 St Johnstone 21 4 1 6 13 15 5 4 1 13 5 6 32 5 Hearts 21 7 0 4 18 7 1 5 4 4 7 8 29 6 Dundee Utd 21 3 3 4 10 10 3 5 3 20 23 -3 26 7 St Mirren 21 4 3 4 13 12 2 5 3 9 15 -5 26 8 Kilmarnock 20 4 4 2 18 15 1 4 5 7 15 -5 23 9 Aberdeen 21 4 4 3 16 11 1 2 7 7 17 -5 21 10 Inverness CT 21 3 2 5 12 16 2 2 7 16 24 -12 19 11 Hibs 20 1 4 5 9 15 2 2 6 9 18 -15 15 12 Dunfermline 19 0 4 5 11 25 3 1 6 9 18 -23 14
Source: FOOTYMAD
