Assistant head coach Billy McKay said players at Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been told one thing they have to improve on.

Be more ruthless.

That was the message given to the players after full time as Inverness defeated Montrose 1-0 to progress into the last 16 of the KDM Evolution Trophy.

Inverness had the majority of possession against their League One opponents on Tuesday night. But only Alfie Stewart’s strike 11 minutes from the end separated the two teams.

While McKay was happy Inverness are in the next round, he said management made it clear to the players that they are not taking enough of their chances.

Mckay said: "The negative was that we've got to be more ruthless. We've told the lads that game should have been out of sight by half-time.

"Fair play to Montrose. They had a lot of young lads. They rested a good few of their players and they did themselves proud and worked hard and defended their box well at times and rode their luck a little bit.

"From our point of view, we have to be more ruthless as a team in and around the box.”

"It's hard when teams sit in. We had that a lot last season. We've got to hit the target more, but we're through to the next round and that's the main thing.

"It's hard because you come off the park a wee bit frustrated, but you've won the game and you're through to the next round.”

Inverness reached the final of the KDM Evolution Trophy last season, but the team they lost to Raith Rovers were knocked out last night by League One outfit Hamilton Academical on penalties.

The draw for the KDM Evolution Trophy takes place on Thursday at noon and McKay says there is an ambition at the club to be in contention to win the competition.

He said: "There were a couple of upsets tonight, such as holders Raith Rovers losing to Hamilton and Morton lost to Kelty Hearts.

“There is no easy game and it's about getting through in cups and we've done that. We look forward to seeing who we get next.

"We're a Championship side this season. We were in League One last season, so we will go into these games as favourites. We'll be one of the favourites to win this cup along with the other Championship teams.

"That brings a different kind of pressure. Last season was great. We beat two teams from the league above us last season, which was a positive.

"Every team is in it to win it. We're also looking to win it this year. There's no doubt about it. We would love to go one step further.

“We got a taste of it last season. We didn't do ourselves justice in the final, but we'll take it one game at a time."