Butcher was disappointed at his side's second-half showing

Inverness boss Terry Butcher expressed his frustration at the way his team failed to build on their first-half performance in the 1-0 loss to Celtic.

He said: "People are saying I must have made 10 substitutions at half-time. The players just didn't do anything that they did in the first half at all.

"It's really disappointing because everything was built up at half-time for a thrilling second half.

"We stood off the ball and allowed Celtic easy, comfortable possession."

Caley Thistle started brightly on their return to the Scottish Premier league after a season in the Scottish First Division.

Johnny Hayes, Eric Odhiambo and Adam Rooney were bold and direct in the opening half, but were swept aside by Celtic after the restart.

"We had a very good first 45. I know Celtic hit the frame twice but we had some good chances as well," Butcher added.

"Yet in the second period I don't think we had a shot. It's disappointing because we had done so well.

"But for (goalkeeper) Ryan Esson, the score would have been a lot more. It could have been a lot worse than 1-0.

We can have no complaints. We can hold our hands up and say we were beaten by a better team in that second period Inverness manager Terry Butcher

"It was a good lesson to learn, that the game lasts 90 minutes."

An England centre-half during his playing days, Butcher was full of praise for Celtic's Greek forward Georgios Samaras.

He told BBC Scotland: "Samaras up front was remarkable today, I thought.

"It was one of the best performances I've seen from a striker in terms of bullying the centre-half, holding the ball up, running into the channels, and his partnership with (Shaun) Maloney was very exciting for Neil Lennon to watch.

"But we can have no complaints. We can hold our hands up and say we were beaten by a better team in that second period.

"It hurts because we wanted to do so well but we have to lick our wounds and make sure that we prepare well for Dundee United next week."

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