JOSH MEEKINGS makes no bones about it - he envies St Johnstone's European pedigree and would love a piece of the action.

But the big central defender knows only too well that such achievements are built by patient endeavour, rather than sweeping statements.

Tonight's visitors to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium are, on the face of it, a club closely comparable to the Highland hosts. They hail from a small city, geographicially detached from the central belt, with a modest but loyal hardcore support more than used to seeing their club punch above its weight among Scotland's more esteemed clubs.

But while Caley Thistle's success can be measured in top-six consistency and last season's League Cup final heartache, Saints have accrued something far more concrete.

Last year's Scottish Cup final triumph was the crowning glory of three successive European qualifications. In 2012/13, it got personal for Inverness as the Perth men pipped Terry Butcher's side to the third-place slot on the final day of the campaign.

Last season, Inverness ended up four points above Saints but it was the latter who again headed for the continent on the strength of cup placings.

Meekings would never break from protocol and declare Caley Thistle's credentials contenders for a top-three finish but it is clear the next step up for the Highlanders is emulating tonight's opponents and playing in Europe.

The 22-year-old from Bury St Edmunds, reared in Ipswich Town's esteemed academy system, admitted: "Over the last couple of years, St Johnstone have been up there alongside us and it's been really close right to the end. There's not been much between the sides. They are a good club, with a lot of good players.

"I think in terms of our aspirations, we just have to keep trying to do what we're doing. There is no short-cut - we just keep training hard, working hard and, hopefully, the results we need will keep coming."

Three consecutive defeats over Christmas raised concerns among the Inverness support of a re-occurrence of the phenomenon of the past couple of seasons - a really strong first half of the campaign sliding into an inconsistent second part.

But three victories since the New Year bells - over Ross County, St Mirren and Kilmarnock - have alleviated those fears and pointed at a readiness to push the likes of Aberdeen and Dundee United all the way.

Meekings acknowledged: "We feel we've got over that blip we had in December, which is important.

"As for Europe, we just go about our business and just approach the next game in the right manner. That's all we think about.

"It's just a matter of getting as many points on the board as we can to secure a top-six place, which is the main target. From there in, we'll see what we can do.

"We've had the experiences before where we've been so close and not quite made Europe, so it's about perseverance."

There is a perception - not always accurate - in the Highland capital that a pale spotlight tends to fall on Caley Thistle, nationally, even when times are good. The relative remoteness of the city breeds the kind of 'them and us' mentality Sir Alex Ferguson deliberately cultivated at Aberdeen in the 1980s.

As far as Meekings is concerned, any indifference shown to the team and club is all for the good.

The young defender, who has been a powerful mainstay beside Gary Warren for the last three seasons now, said: "If anything, it helps that others like Aberdeen and Dundee United are getting so much publicity.

"As far as the shape of the top of the tables goes, it is a bit different to what people are used to.

"We go under the radar a little bit and we don't mind that at all. The others can get the plaudits and we'll try to keep chipping away and get as many points as we can on the board.

"It's so tight that one game can put you down four places or up four places. We've got to keep backing ourselves without our ability that we can keep doing well and achieve things."

Tonight, Caley Thistle will deliberately under-sell themselves. The club has been innovative of late in trying to bolster crowds averaging around 4,000.

While the home contingent at matches has actually risen this season, falling away supports have brought an overall decline.

The 'pay what you can afford' initiative, then, is seen as a way of attracting new supporters locally while also encouraging a bigger travelling support on what otherwise looked set to be the season's Black Tuesday.

Meekings was enthusiastic about the club's efforts, adding: "We welcome the pay as much as you can initiative because we want as many fans as possible to come here.

"We've done well at home but we want to make it as tough a place to come as possible, so we want a good atmosphere. "Against Aberdeen recently, the atmosphere was very good and it makes the games a lot better, with that extra buzz around the place. So anything we can do to bring in a few more is obviously good and we are happy to do that."