JOHN HUGHES is anticipating a tough afternoon for St Mirren's back line when Ibra Sekajja makes his Premiership debut tomorrow.

The Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager gave a strong hint yesterday that the pacy former Crystal Palace striker, signed a week ago, was in line for a start in Paisley.

Whether it will be from the bench or as a starter remains to be seen, but Hughes is excited by the prospect and also reiterated his faith in established striker Billy McKay despite the Northern Ireland internationalist's current arid patch.

Blooding 21-year-old Sekajja, though, appears to be a strong temptation for Hughes.

He said: "What has really struck me about Ibra is he's electric quick. Blink and you'll miss him - catch him if you can. He is not your big, physical type of striker, but he never plays in front of the defender, always on his shoulder.

"If he gets the right service and is slotted into good areas of the park, you will not catch him. He only needs that half yard and he's off and away. He's a natural finisher. He is hungry for his chance so he will come into contention, that's for sure.

"We also have Billy [McKay] back fresh from Northern Ireland duty in Greece and it is only a matter of time before he starts hitting the net again."

Hughes, meanwhile, is urging his players to finish the first third of pre-split Premiership matches with two victories.

Inverness follow the trip to Paisley with a home match against Dundee United which will mark the end of the first 11-match cycle.

Hughes said: "The international break has certainly given us a chance to recharge the batteries, which is important mentally as well.

"But when you look back at the last international lay-off in September you could feel it maybe knocked our momentum a bit.

"Nothing is easy in football and I keep saying that to the players. You have to go and earn it and we'll have to earn it if we are to pick up the points on Saturday."