Caley Thistle defender Danny Devine is one of three players to have signed a new contract with the Championship club.
The 29-year-old centre-half has penned a fresh deal, along with goalkeeper Cammy Mackay, 25, and midfield hot-shot Lewis Hyde, 19.
The Highlanders also confirmed skipper Sean Welsh, midfielder Aaron Doran and defender Wallace Duffy are to be offered new contracts, while they are in talks with, or have put offers to, several potential new players.
As the club continue to talk to players following their run to the Premiership play-off final, striker Shane Sutherland, who is sidelined with a serious knee injury, will also have a deal on the table as the club ensure they take care of his medical needs.
Fellow injured team-mates Roddy MacGregor (jaw) and Tom Walsh (knee) will also be supported by ICT in terms of their recoveries.
Caley Thistle chief executive Scot Gardiner addressed several areas of the club’s work just five days after St Johnstone won the play-off final against them, 4-0 in the second leg in Perth and 6-2 on aggregate.
Having finished third in the Championship, ICT were on the cusp of an historic step back to the top-flight.
Defeat in Perth remains ‘raw’ – chief
No club had made it through from the quarter-finals all the way to promotion. They got past Partick and Arbroath over four pulsating ties, but Saints were too sharp in the closing 45 minutes of the final.
Gardiner said: “It is fair to say that everyone at ICT is still feeling very raw after the most phenomenal effort by (head coach) Billy Dodds, the players and staff this season, but especially over the last few weeks in particular.
“We came up just short this time, but the night was illustrative of a special bond between the fans and the club which has been enhanced throughout this rollercoaster of a season.
“We believe the incredible support shown on Monday, which saw over 2,000 Caley Jags travel down the A9 and over 10,000 back us across the six gruelling but thrilling play-off games, gives our players, coaches and staff huge encouragement for the future.
“All six play-off games have included incredible moments that won’t be forgotten easily, but we must use them to push us on next season.”
Boss Dodds led ICT’s promotion push
An 11-match run without a win from mid-December to mid-March slowed the side after a stunning start to their Championship season in what was Billy Dodds’ first season as a boss in his own right.
Gardiner praised the head coach he appointed as he hinted at trying times away from the pitch which were testing.
He said: “During the season, Billy Dodds was under incredible pressure during a run which saw us not win a match in three months, following some horrible circumstances that quite honestly, no decent person should have to deal with.
“He then lost the in-form and influential Scott Allardice to a serious injury. Throughout this period, he never doubted his ability or the ability of the squad to turn things around and he deserves tremendous credit for that.”
Gardiner also thanked Manny Duku, Lewis Jamieson and Anthony McDonald, who left in the January window, while acknowledging the efforts of young Bristol City loanee Sam Pearson, who returned home to Wales for personal reasons.
The Inverness chief thanked Norwich City’s Reece McAlear and Dundee United’s Logan Chalmers for providing “some spectacular goals and performances” while on loan.
He also praised “warrior” defender Kirk Broadfoot, who confirmed he’s leaving the club after an impressive year.
Youngsters Harry Nicolson and Ryan Fyffe have left the Caley Jags, as has physio Dougal Sim, who is retiring.
Financial moves afoot at Inverness
Off the field, season tickets numbers were up on the last two seasons, according to Gardiner, with the commercial numbers similarly up and the Puma kits continued to be popular with fans.
Gardiner, who confirmed season tickets for the coming campaign will go on sale next week, also mentioned the youth-led and club-supported Section 94 fans’ group who helped raise the roof for the promotion push last season.
Following the conclusion of the 2021/22 campaign, we have prepared an End of Season Statement.#ICTFC #S94 pic.twitter.com/3hsOvJxdU0
— Section 94 (@ict_section94) May 26, 2022
As Caley Thistle look to bolster their finances for a sixth successive year in the second tier, the Inverness CEO explained changes for the better due to a key business tie-up.
He added: “The first phase of our already successful partnership with Intelligent Land Investments Group is close to coming to fruition and this will give us a financial platform unlike any we have had before and we hope to be able to announce a second phase of this genuine partnership soon.”
The plan is also to bolster the boardroom with two new directors to offer “even more business acumen” and anyone interested is asked to contact Gardiner.
Planned football hub hailed by chief
Vacant ground beside Inverness Royal Academy is earmarked as the base for an exciting football hub for the community, the ICT Women’s side and the club’s community trust.
Gardiner said the planned project “could be one of the most innovative and productive community schemes in Scotland, let alone the Highlands, and the cross-party political support as we edge closer to an agreement with Highland Council has been extremely encouraging for all of us involved in delivering the hub.”
🏆 Our Fixtures for the 2022/23 #PremierSportsCup Group Stage
Ticket Info TBC pic.twitter.com/Svl5Y3TZyR
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) May 27, 2022
He added: “The addition of over 150 girls from P1 to U16s to ICTWFC in the last few months has been inspiring an,d if we are successful with our plans, they will surely benefit from being a major anchor presence at the hub, as will our burgeoning ICT Community Trust projects and of course our highly thought-of academy.”
ICT Academy continues to deliver
And the ICT chief, who described chairman Ross Morrison and the board as being “creative and supportive” during the challenging times, further praised the ICT Academy.
He said on that front, the club “continue to punch way above our weight with the quality of players, style of football, and the standard of our coaching.”
Away from the sporting arena, the club is thrilled to be staging two huge entertainment acts at the Caledonian Stadium this summer. Andrea Bocelli takes to the stage on July 1, with Duran Duran in the spotlight the following night.
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