Former Scotland and Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot admits Morton’s facilities were the worst he has experienced as Caley Thistle crashed out of the Scottish Cup.
The experienced centre half, who was a shrewd signing by head coach Billy Dodds in the summer, has played in all sorts of stadia across the country and abroad.
However, being plunged in to darkness in shivering conditions when a generator failed for a third-round replay at Cappielow on Tuesday topped the lot.
The misery was compounded for Inverness when they were held 1-1, as they were at the Caledonian Stadium two weeks ago, then Morton won a penalty shoot-out 5-3 to line up a shot at Premiership Motherwell next month.
The ramshackle units the visitors used, due to Covid restrictions, have been slammed by Dodds and the club, who even threatened to pull out of this weekend’s league fixture at Cappielow should the issue not be fixed before this afternoon’s game.
However, Morton have confirmed in a supporters’ update that the visitors will now use the gym area, meaning a switch of entry point for some fans.
Morton vs Inverness CT | Supporters Update
An update ahead of tomorrow's match is now available to view:https://t.co/5hyzBiESmY pic.twitter.com/ywlAMZlyv2
— Greenock Morton (@Morton_FC) December 10, 2021
No lighting or heating for ICT
Broadfoot, 37, completely agreed with Dodds about what they experienced, insisting he’s never seen anything like it in his long professional career.
He said: “I thought it was a disgrace, to be honest. We were supposedly placed there for Covid reasons, but we were stuck in wee portacabins right next to each other, with no lighting or heating.
“The toilets are like ones you would find at the side of a street. It was pretty manky and wasn’t cleaned.
“Add to that boys had to travel four hours without getting a shower or a heat. It wasn’t great. That was the worst I’d experienced.”
Bugs could be caught in the cold
Broadfoot is focused on targeting a win at Morton today, but questioned how the host club was allowed to put the visitors into those units in the first place.
He said: “There is nothing else we can do. We’ve been put in there and we just need to go there and play the game.
“To be fair to Morton, it’s not ideal, but if that’s where they have put other clubs… I genuinely don’t know what to say about it.
“It can’t be right for Covid-protocol or you could end up picking up the flu or the cold because there’s no heating.
“I mean there was no lighting at half-time. We couldn’t see one another. How can that be right?”
Devine shines in training and games
Broadfoot, meanwhile, praised his central defensive team-mate Danny Devine, who he has forged a strong relationship with this term.
He joked the Northern Irishman is less than impressed when the ex-Killie man goes on a burst forward to spark an attack.
He added: “I maybe didn’t realise how good Danny was until I joined the club. I think he’s a top professional, a top player. He plays the way he trains, which I really like. I don’t think we’re good enough to just switch on.
“To be fair, I don’t know if he likes playing alongside me because sometimes I leave him alone at the back to go on some of my mad runs and he has a wee moan at me.
“Hopefully we can get a few more clean sheets, because that’s our job. I was delighted he got his first goal of the season on Tuesday and if we can chip in with more goals that will help the team in the long run.”
Top performance needed at Morton
Broadfoot, who says he’s still enjoying his football, aims to keep ICT top of the Championship against their eighth-placed, managerless hosts.
However, he expects another testing 90 minutes. He said: “Tuesday was the third time we’ve played them this season. Even when we beat them 2-0, it probably wasn’t a 2-0 kind of game.
“We’ve also had two 1-1 draws and lost on penalties in the Scottish Cup, so we will need to be fully at it on Saturday to get three points.”