Inverness player-manager Craig Brewster is delighted with the strength of depth in his pool of players at the Caledonian Stadium.Brewster had to leave Dennis Wyness in the stands against Dundee United on Saturday as, in conjunction with SPL rules, he is forced to include three under-21 players in his matchday squad.
Should those youngsters all start as substitutes, along with a replacement goalkeeper, that only leaves three other outfield spots on the bench for Brewster to fill.
For the 1-1 draw with United those positions went to attackers Markus Paatelainen and Graham Bayne, along with defender Steven Watt.
As a result, Brewster was unable to find a place for Wyness, the top goalscorer in Caley Thistle's history.
But Brewster insists due to the healthy size of the Inverness squad, his players will just have to learn to deal with the prospect of sitting out of first team action.
Brewster said:
"At the weekend I only had three places on the bench for players over the age of 21 and we needed one of them to be a defender, while I thought we might have to use Graham Bayne at some point during the game.
"In the end he came on and made a difference.
"So players being left out is what happens when you have a big squad."
Brewster believes it never gets any easier for a manager to tell a player that their services are not required for a game.
He said: "As a manager the hardest thing you have to do is tell someone they are not playing.
"It is definitely the worst part of the job, because everyone wants to play."
Inverness face Motherwell on Wednesday night in a match rescheduled from January 26, when the Fir Park pitch was waterlogged.
The playing surface at the Lanarkshire ground remains in a poor state after being battered by inclement weather over winter months.
Gretna's ground-sharing agreement with Motherwell has caused further problems, with the grass being offered no opportunity to recover due to a constant run of matches being played on it.
Therefore, Brewster admits his players will have to adapt their games in order to cope with the rough terrain.
He said: "The pitch is going to be the same for both sides and in certain areas it will not be possible to play passing football.
"We are going to have to be smart, use our heads and play to the conditions."
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