CALEY JAGS gaffer Terry Butcher hailed Inverness for the superb second-half turnaround which saw them win 3-1 at Hamilton to extend their unbeaten away record.
The Highlanders trailed at the interval to Dougie Imrie's opener for Accies against his old side, but burst into life straight from the restart with an Adam Rooney double - the first following David Elebert's defensive error - sandwiching a Jonny Hayes goal in 10 action-packed minutes on Saturday.
Promoted side Inverness sit fifth in the Scottish Premier League after preserving their record of not having lost on their league travels since November 29 - with Celtic their next away challenge.
Butcher admitted that bottom side Accies were worthy of their interval lead at New Douglas Park, saying: "Hamilton dominated the first half - we were very poor and not at the races but at 1-0 we were still in the game.
"I didn't go mad to the players; I just got them together and said, 'is this how the year's going to end, for us to throw it away meekly and go up the road with our tail between our legs after working so hard for a year?'
"The boys came out with a lot more determination but we did get some good fortune and Adam put it away really well.
"The second goal came really quickly after that so all of a sudden we were 2-1 up without having played any sort of decent football to get there, but of course confidence flooded throughout the team.
"No wonder I drink - we were awful in the first half and we've won 3-1, then you're asking, 'how did that happen?'!
"Hamilton will be asking how they lost that game having dominated the first half so much, but we got the goals and they had to change round which suited us as we were able to pick them off.
"It's remarkable how far we've come and what we've done - 21 points in 13 games is beyond our wildest dreams but we seem to do better after the break, as the players seem to have a look at the opposition and then raise their game in the second half.
"When you give Adam Rooney a chance, he's going to score; and I'm glad Jonny Hayes scored because it's been a few games since he's done so."
