Inverness forward Ryan Christie admits he is caught between two minds as he prepares to face up to former team-mate Billy McKay.
The Highlanders will come up against the Northern Irish hitman for the first time since he quit the Caledonian Stadium earlier this year when they face Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday.
McKay’s £200,000 move to Wigan back in January failed to reproduce the glut of goals he netted for Caley Thistle and the 26-year-old has now returned to Scotland on loan with the Tangerines hoping to kick-start his career.
He netted on his home debut from the penalty spot last week but that was not enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat to Kilmarnock.
Now Christie has confessed he is unsure how to treat this weekend’s reunion.
He said: “You don’t know if its a positive or a negative playing against Billy.
“We know what sort of player he is and how dangerous he can be, so we know what to expect.
“But even with that knowledge, he might be desperate to prove himself against us.
“I don’t know what his thinking will be. We’ll just need to wait and see but let’s hope it’s our day and not his.”
Caley Thistle have enjoyed a marginally better start to the Ladbrokes Premiership season than second-bottom United.
John Hughes’ team got their first win of the campaign against Hearts last week to move into ninth place but his Arabs counterpart Jackie McNamara is feeling the strain after four straight defeats.
Now Christie – who is back with Caley Thistle on loan after clinching a £500,000 move to Celtic last month – has warned his side to beware a United backlash.
“They have had the same kind of start as us this season,” he said. “But they have taken on a few new boys now and will be looking to kick on and get a bit of consistency.
“They will come out all guns blazing after the last result against Killie so that is something we will have to watch out for.
“But just like we did against Hearts, if we have to go in 0-0 at half-time and wait until the 70th minute for a goal, then that’s what we will do.”