Caley Thistle captain Graeme Shinnie reckons lifting the Scottish Cup trophy was the perfect parting gift.
Shinnie produced a man-of-the-match performance for Caley Jags in a dramatic late 2-1 victory in Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Falkirk in his final game for Inverness before joining hometown club Aberdeen.
The 23-year-old departs Caledonian Stadium after seven years with Inverness, which included a six-month spell on the sidelines recovering from Crohn’s disease.
Shinnie believes lifting the trophy was the best way to reward Caley Jags for the club’s role in his development.
Shinnie said: “It was the best way to go out. I couldn’t have dreamed of going out in a better way.
“Leading up to the business end of the season, trying to secure third place and get to the cup final was exactly what I wanted.
“When we did get to the cup final, it was all about securing third. We were able to do that, so the cherry on the top is lifting the cup.
“The team deserves massive credit and the players will never be forgotten. It’s the first trophy and the first time we’ve secured European football. It’ll be hard to emulate a season like this because the achievements have been so high. But as long as everyone keeps their head down and works hard there will be many more days like this.
“The club has given me everything I’ve got in my football career so far. I can only thank Inverness for giving me that. Hopefully, my performances have been enough to make them happy.
“It’s a sad day, being my last game, but on the flip side I’m delighted to go out by winning the cup.”
Midfielder James Vincent netted the winner three minutes from time, just 15 minutes after replacing Ryan Christie as a substitute.
The dismissal of defender Carl Tremarco on 74 minutes forced John Hughes to reshuffle his side, deploying Vincent as a makeshift right back, with Shinnie hailing the Englishman’s impact.
Shinnie added: “James typified the spirit in the team. He had to play right back but his head didn’t go down. He got on with it and after all that he deserved to get the winning goal.
“We went down to 10 men and at the time we were looking to hold on at 1-0 – plain and simple – but when their goal went in it was hard to see a way out.
“I guess, over the years at Caley Thistle, we’ve not done anything the easy way. The spirit in the squad made it possible we could go on and get a winner but when we did it was just a massive relief.”