JOHN Hughes insists tiredness will not be a problem for his Inverness players as they look to repeat their cup-winning heroics.

The William Hill Scottish Cup holders take on Highland rivals Ross County in the quarter-finals of the League Cup on Tuesday.

The derby battle at the Caledonian Stadium is sure to tire legs on both sides after their weekend activities. While County were losing 2-0 to Hearts in Edinburgh on Saturday, Caley also suffered disappointment as they allowed 10-man St Johnstone to escape back down the A9 with a 1-0 win.

Hughes said: "It's not a hardship having to play Saturday-Tuesday and possibly extra-time.

"I look at guys who have to work down in the shipyards. My father was a docker and my mother worked three jobs.

"That's why when I come in here in the morning I think I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

"I want my guys to appreciate what they've got but I believe I've got the right characters who do just that. That's why no matter how long it goes and whatever it takes, we'll be there till the end."

Saints lost skipper Dave Mackay to a second-half red card after he lunged in on Carl Tremarco but they still managed to claim the points through Liam Craig's late penalty.

Hughes praised his player's efforts but admitted they will have to sharpen up if they are too see off Jim McIntyre's County troops.

He said: "It wasn't Saturday's performance which disappointed me - it was Saturday's result. The performance was okay, trust me on that.

"Even at 11 vs 11, we were the better team and controlling the game. My only frustration was that we needed to be more cutting, more ruthless and create more chances in the final third.

"So you don't have to be a rocket scientist to realise what we've been working on the last couple of days."

Meanwhile, County manager McIntyre has backed his side to shake off their Tynecastle surrender and battle past Inverness.

The Dingwall men failed to put up a fight in Gorgie on Saturday. But manager McIntyre refused to press the panic button and instead put the defeat down to a bad day.

And he believes County now have the perfect pick-me up, with McIntyre insisting his side will have no trouble rediscovering their aggression when they face their Highland rivals.

McIntyre said: "Saturday was one of those days when nothing went right for us. We gave the ball away far too much and didn't win enough of those battles.

"But that is the first time I've had to say that this season. The boys have been fantastic, so we'll just write it off and move on to what is a great game for us to try and bounce back.

"It is always intense in a derby. We'll have to play with an intensity from the get-go, something we've done particularly well this season.

"But I'm confident the boys will get back to that kind of performance."

John Hughes' William Hill Scottish Cup winners made history last season when they became the first side from north of the Great Glen to lift a major trophy.

McIntyre would love to see his side match that feat but he is refusing to get too far ahead of himself just yet.

"Any time you've got a chance to get to a semi-final of a national cup competition then you realise it's a massive game," he said.

"We will be pouring everything into this to try and make sure we are the victors.

"You just have to look at Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Inverness, who are all recent cup winners, to see that these tournaments offer the best chance of silverware for provincial clubs like us.

"But we can't look that far ahead yet. We cannot think about winning cups yet, we can only think about winning this match and getting ourselves into the semi-finals."