Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Andy Skinner: Robertson’s new deal gives Caley Jags stability needed for another top-flight push

John Robertson.
John Robertson.

John Robertson’s new two-year contract will guarantee Caley Thistle an even greater layer of stability on a day their fate for next season was finally settled.

The SPFL has confirmed it will not go ahead with a formal vote on league reconstruction, after a proposal for a 14-10-10-10 format failed to gather sufficient support from clubs across all four divisions.

Although they will remain in the Championship the fact Inverness were part of the conversation is testament to the work Robertson has done, with Caley Jags standing to be promoted as a result of finishing second should the proposal have passed.

Sunday marked three years to the day since Robertson was unveiled for a second stint in charge at Caledonian Stadium, inheriting a club fresh from being relegated in the previous campaign.

The end of Caley Jags’ seven-year top-flight stint, which subsequently led to the sacking of Richie Foran, gave Robertson a major task in reviving morale at the club.

Inverness were landing into a division which clubs such as Rangers, Hibernian and Dundee United had failed to get out of at the first attempt, which laid bare the scale of the challenge.

The post-relegation hangover was initially plain to see, with a much-changed team which had been quickly assembled by Robertson taking time to gel.

Once Inverness averted their poor early season form they did not look back, ending the league campaign with a ruthless streak of 11 matches undefeated, but just running out of time to creep into the play-off spots.

On top of that, Robertson led the Highlanders to IRN-BRU Cup success courtesy of a win over Dumbarton in March 2018, which was a sign the club was heading in the right direction once again.

The improvement continued into the following campaign, with a third-placed finish securing a play-off place, but Inverness ultimately fell to a semi-final defeat by Dundee United.

That gave the Highlanders fresh impetus ahead of last season, and although they were largely well adrift of runaway leaders United, they maintained a firm grip on second place from December onwards.

Although that is where they ended as a result of the points-per-game formula, following the ending of the season due to coronavirus, they will not have the opportunity to go one better than last year’s play-off bid in a year in which they would undoubtedly have fancied their chances.

That will be a frustration for Robertson but the commitment to an extra two years is a sure sign it has only made him more hungry to succeed in his goal of overseeing Caley Thistle’s return to Scottish football’s elite.

Robertson’s remit has not been made any easier by the loss of players each summer, with the likes of Iain Vigurs, Joe Chalmers and Liam Polworth leaving voids to be replaced on a limited budget.

His unquestionable success in doing so will give Caley Jags supporters confidence the recent loss of Coll Donaldson, Jamie McCart, Shaun Rooney, Jordan White and Tom Walsh – who were all Robertson’s own recruits – can be offset.

Among the biggest obstacles to Inverness’ path back into the top-flight will be the presence of Robertson’s former club Hearts, whose relegation was confirmed following the collapse of league reconstruction plans.

With question marks over Jambos boss Daniel Stendel’s future, Robertson’s new contract is likely to dampen the prospect of speculation linking him with a Tynecastle return from surfacing should the German depart.

There is a sense that Inverness are steadily getting closer to ending their top-flight absence, and Robertson’s commitment until 2023 will give the club added confidence they can get over the line.