Inverness Caledonian Thistle are living the high life – with more than a little help from a Huddersfield man.

Steve Marsella, born and bred in Fartown, once an All Saints pupil and a former Town academy coach, is the unheralded third member of a management team led by former Ipswich, Rangers and England defender Terry Butcher and also including ex-Dundee United and Scotland midfielder Maurice Malpas.

Former goalkeeper Marsella’s career was less glamorous, although he can lay claim to helping Elgin City move from the Highland to the Scottish League 13 years ago.

That followed a failed attempt to earn a professional contract at Halifax Town and a stint out in Canada.

The 46-year-old still puts his experience between the posts to good use as goalkeeping coach at Inverness, where he shares an office with former Town striker Duncan Shearer, now Caley Thistle’s Under 21 coach.

That’s on the odd occasions he’s actually at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, with it’s spectacular views of both the Moray Firth and Kessock Bridge.

For Marsella’s real forte is in scouting, and the 46-year-old covers around 60,000 miles a season trawling a variety of clubs and leagues in his unstinting and impressively successful search for talent.

He was at the wheel as we spoke, having just taken in half a dozen matches in the space of four days before heading back up the A9 to help Butcher, with whom he first worked at Brentford, and Malpas prepare for today’s Scottish Premiership clash at Kilmarnock.

Unbeaten in five games so far and having dropped points only to Celtic at Parkhead, Inverness, who have scored 10 goals and conceded only two, are enjoying life at the top – for as long as it lasts.

“You have to be realistic in this game, and we know the chances are we won’t win the title, although that won’t stop us trying,” said Marsella of a club who missed out on a Europa League berth only on the final day of last season, when they ended up fourth.

Since then, they have lost striker Andrew Shinnie to Birmingham, midfielder Owain Tudur Jones to Hibs and keeper Antonio Reguero to today’s hosts Kilmarnock.

Marsella was involved in the signing of all three, from Rangers, Norwich and Spanish minnows Gandia respectively.

He also helped bring in key men in former Macclesfield midfielder Ross Draper, ex-Northampton forward Billy McKay, who has netted five goals so far, Gary Warren, a one-time Newport player and a more-than-solid centre-back and Aaron Doran, a winger who came through the junior ranks at Blackburn.

Meanwhile Dean Brill has joined on loan from Luton to replace Reguero while James Vincent has impressed as an attacking midfielder since moving from Kidderminster.

Other new faces this time around include Marley Watkins from Hereford, Curtis Allen from Coleraine, Ben Greenhalgh from Ebbsfleet, Danny Williams from Kendal Town, Carl Tremarco from Macclesfield, Daniel Devine from Wrexham and Norwegian Torbjorn Agdestein from Brighton.

“There’s been a real change, but that’s nothing new for us,” added Marsella.

“We have a double problem of working to a tight budget and being a long way from most other clubs, and while the lads can watch seals and dolphins swimming in the sea while eating their lunch, living up here isn’t for everyone.

“We have do to a real selling job in some cases, and something we can provide is a stepping stone to bigger things.

“I’ve persuaded many a player to come up here on a limited salary by offering them the chance to showcase their talents and earn a move to bigger things, and our track record proves that happens.”

So how did Marsella develop his talent for finding diamonds in the rough, and how did he hook up with Butcher, who is tipped to win the Scottish Premiership manager of the month award when it is announced tomorrow?

“It’s all about contacts and making the effort to get to games,” said Marsella, whose previous jobs include managing Leeds United Ladies, working for the Professional Footballers’ Association and Scottish Football Association (as a development officer in the Highlands) and coaching keepers at Barnsley, Grimsby, Notts County, QPR, Crewe, Accrington and in Iceland.

“I’ve worked in a lot of different places, done a lot of different things within football and met a lot of different people, and so have Terry and Maurice. That means we’ve been able to build up a network of people whose opinions we trust.

“Then I get out onto the road to have a look. If it means going to Plymouth on a Thursday night, that’s what I do.

“It can be tough, but there’s a satisfaction in the job as well, especially when the club are doing well and you see players you have helped bring in become successful and go on to big things.

“But I have to give the real credit to Terry and Maurice, because they are the ones who coach and get the best out of the players I try to provide them with.

“I first worked with Terry when he was managing Brentford in 2007. He was looking to add to his coaching team and someone recommended me to him. We had a chat and hit it off.

“We linked up again when he got the job at Inverness in 2009, and we’re still going strong!”

While his focus is very much on Inverness – formed in 1994 by the merger of Caledonian and Thistle, two of the city’s three clubs (Clachnacuddin are still going it alone on the Highlands League) – Marsella still follows Town’s fortunes.

“They are my home team, I still keep in touch with people I got to know when working there, and it’s great seeing them up in the Championship,” he continued.