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.

‘Flattered’ Caley Thistle target Darren O’Dea opts to remain with Celtic

Managing struggling Inverness in the Championship is not the right move at present for the respected Celtic B coach, sources reveal.

Celtic B coach Darren O'Dea was "flattered" to be wanted by ICT.
Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock
Celtic B coach Darren O'Dea was "flattered" to be wanted by ICT. Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Caley Thistle’s top target to replace Billy Dodds has pulled out of the running as the Championship board steps up its hunt to appoint the next boss.

Celtic B coach Darren O’Dea, a former Ireland international, was identified quickly as the man the Highlanders wanted to become their next head coach last week.

It’s unclear whether O’Dea, who coaches the Hoops side in the Lowland League, was interviewed, but it’s understood he’s opted to stay with the Scottish champions, although is “flattered” to be wanted by Inverness.

Inverness chairman Ross Morrison.
Inverness chairman Ross Morrison.

A source close to the highly-rated 36-year-old Irishman revealed O’Dea “won’t be taking the Inverness job, although is flattered with the approach they made, it is not something for him at this current stage”.

Last season, O’Dea’s team finished just three points behind champions Spartans and one point behind Rangers in third spot.

When the approach was made by the Inverness board last week, it was clear that Celtic would fight all the way to keep O’Dea, who seems to have a pathway up the coaching ladder with the Glasgow giants.

Morton manager Dougie Imrie, who is a contender for the manager job at Inverness CT.
Morton manager Dougie Imrie. Image: Sammy Turner/SNS Group

Dougie Imrie ‘a genuine contender’ for manager job at Inverness CT

Caley Thistle’s three-man board of chairman Ross Morrison, chief executive Scot Gardiner and director Graeme Bennett have been working over the weekend on closing in on preferred candidates.

It’s believed that Morton manager Dougie Imrie is a genuine contender, although the former Caley Jags midfielder has stated he has a job still to do at the fellow Championship club.

Although the Greenock club sit just above ICT at the wrong end of the table, Ton are thought to have the lowest budget and smallest pool of players in the division.

Despite that, Imrie’s side just missed out on the promotion play-offs on goal difference and one place in front of Inverness, in fifth, in May. His coaching potential has been noted up north.

Scott Brown, who was a player/assistant manager at Aberdeen until last year, has emerged as a possible contender for the manager role at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Scott Brown was a player/assistant manager at Aberdeen until last year.

Others remain in frame to take

Former Celtic and Scotland skipper Scott Brown emerged as a possible contender on Saturday, according to BBC Scotland reports, while former Hibs assistant manager Jamie McAllister is another linked to the post.

Caley Thistle’s 1-0 home defeat by Dundee United on Saturday leaves them three points adrift of Morton and without a league win in any of their first six matches. Overall, they’ve gone 10 games running without a victory.

Dodds and assistant Barry Wilson were shown the door last Sunday and the recruitment drive began hours later,