Paul Chalk: Caley Thistle's loan players' plea highlights need for emergency SPFL help

Caley Thistle’s starting 11 against Hamilton Accies on Saturday will have a youthful look to it.

The Championship teams will line up in the SPFL Trust Trophy at New Douglas Park, one week before they meet on league duties at the same venue.

This Saturday, Inverness travel with nine first-team regulars unavailable due to injury.

They are: captain Sean Welsh, defenders Robbie Deas and Zak Delaney, midfielders Scott Allardice and Roddy MacGregor, winger Tom Walsh, and forwards Billy Mckay, Shane Sutherland and Austin Samuels.

This week, Caley Thistle confirmed the team to take on Accies will largely be drawn from their under-18s squad.

ICT under-18s who might face Accies, from left – Keith Bray, Matthew Strachan and Calum MacKay.

Before ICT faced leaders Ayr United in the league last month, they appealed to the SPFL to allow them to recall any of the loanee players they have farmed out to earn experience at Highland League clubs.

Goalkeeper Lewis Munro, 17, is at Nairn County, full-back Aly Riddle, 18, and midfielder Robbie Thompson, 18, are with Clach, 17-year-old midfielder Harry Hennem is at Wick Academy, and 17-year-old forward Ethan Cairns is at Forres Mechanics.

Their bid was rejected.

ICT were asking for the chance to bring any of these players back before their January loan deals expire due to their injury crisis and pointed to the fact St Mirren were granted special dispensation to have players recalled from loan deals last year.

In that instance, the Saints were stricken by low numbers due to 11 positive Covid test results, with players forced to self-isolate.

Jim Goodwin, who was Buddies boss at the time, even said the SPFL “bent the rules” to allow six under-18s to come back and play for the club in its emergency state.

Injuries nothing new, unlike Covid

This week, Inverness took a swipe at the SPFL, saying pitching youths in at Hamilton on Saturday, including some boys who are still at school, has been necessitated a lack of assistance from the competition’s chiefs.

Having spoken this week to Caley Thistle under-18s coach Ryan Esson, he asked what is the difference between players being unavailable due to illness or missing through injury.

The SPFL have stated their sympathy for ICT’s case, but say rules are rules and they must be followed.

So it appears Covid was viewed as a special case. It was an unprecedented time.

Meanwhile, injuries have always been part and parcel and clubs must get on with it.

The SPFL might well say if you allow one club to bring back loanees, it opens the door for the rest.

I’d hope clubs would only trouble the league if it was a genuine crisis and backed up with documents as Caley Thistle say they have.

But I do think looking at cases individually – and potentially being flexible on the rules -surely makes sense when clubs are struggling to field a side. ICT are at that point.

Inverness head coach Billy Dodds. Image: Craig Williamson/SNS Group

Can Esson’s young team spring a shock?

Caley Thistle argue they have medical proof showing these mainly long-term injuries are not going to clear up any time soon.

This is why they have said they will play the kids this weekend.

Esson’s talented group might well spring a surprise and it will be interesting to see how Accies manager John Rankin plays it in terms of his own team selection.

Hamilton are bottom of the Championship and will be as desperate for three points next week – as mid-table Inverness will be, too – when the sides meet again.

Before that, a place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals is at stake and the under-18s will be encouraged to realise this tie is a chance to impress in a first-team game and any support from the stands will be welcomed by Inverness.