IT looks like the Premiership relegation issue is now down to just three clubs and this is shaping up to be a massive weekend for all of them. Against all odds, bottom side Inverness Caley Thistle have got the opportunity to close the gap to the play-off spot to just one point should results go in their favour. And that would have seemed unthinkable just a week ago when they looked almost dead and buried.

Their record, though, isn’t great. They have only won five league games all season and conceded 67 goals, a tally higher than any other team in the four senior divisions. So it’s easy to see where they have gone wrong. Richie Foran has endured a torrid first season in management but if I were him I’d be reminding my players how well they did against Hamilton last week and asking them to dig deep to produce that kind of performance again away to Kilmarnock tomorrow. They need to show that same character and fighting spirit. Foran had spoken about wanting warriors in his team and guys like Ross Draper and Gary Warren turned up for him.

You just wonder why they weren’t showing that same level of commitment seven or eight weeks. Where had that performance been hiding? It’s alright saying that last week was them rising to deal with the adversity but there’s been adversity around the team for months now. I just wonder if last weekend’s victory was a case of too little, too late. The manager has not had a good first season but you have to also question the mentality of the players, too.

Where’s their desire been to get themselves off the bottom of the league? Ten of the guys are out of contract and a large percentage will probably move on so you wonder if they really are playing for their futures or not. If you know you’re going to be leaving do you have that same hunger to fight for the jersey? That might well be a factor.

They’ve struggled for goals all year. Greg Tansey is their top scorer with six and then next is Lonsana Doumbouya who has five but left in January. Billy McKay only has three. He was brought back in January with a view to rescuing the team but you have to say he’s not hit the heights he enjoyed in his first stint.

I have to admit there’s been a lot of times this season where I’ve found Foran’s post-match stuff baffling. He’s contradicted himself, he’s criticised his players publicly and then the next week he’s praised them. It’s been a year of mixed messages from the Irishman and that can’t help in the dressing room. But if they win tomorrow they’ll have a chance and a bit of momentum going into their final two games.

That’s a scenario that ought to send waves of panic rippling through Motherwell and Hamilton who face each other tomorrow. Motherwell might look at the lift Dundee have got by bringing in Neil McCann as manager – two wins out of two – and wonder why they’ve not yet had a similar bounce under Stephen Robinson since he replaced Mark McGhee. I think that maybe stems from the fact that Robinson was already there as assistant manager. Did he bring something entirely new to shake things up? Maybe not.

He’ll be happy it’s away from home tomorrow as Motherwell have the worst home record in the league, with 11 defeats. There’s evidently something psychologically wrong there. They continue to make mistakes, and defensive errors has been the story of their season. People say they have a strong squad but no team is ever too good to go down.

They look a side going into the concluding part of the season really low on confidence which must be worrying. They’ve lost 10 of their last 15 games which is absolutely abysmal form. They have more quality throughout the squad than the other two but that isn’t everything. Do they have the nerve to see the job out?

Hamilton have the best home record in the bottom six which sets things up nicely for tomorrow. This has the feel of a play-off decider as the loser will be favourites to remain there with just two matches left after this one. You can see Accies scrapping for everything over these last three matches. They are a team that is built to fight for their lives and you can be sure they will be giving everything. I don’t think there will be too much quality on show in this game but you really ought to expect commitment, passion and two teams getting stuck in. It wouldn’t surprise me if it finished a draw given what is at stake.

The sides above Hamilton ought to be safe now. There’s now a four-point gap to Dundee, while Ross County and Kilmarnock are further ahead still. But for the other three sides a nervy few weeks await.