Arbroath have hit back at Caley Thistle head coach Duncan Ferguson’s accusation their players had “downed tools”.
In his pre-match press-conference ahead of tonight’s game against Raith Rovers, Ferguson expressed his fear that with already-relegated Arbroath still having to play ICT’s drop-zone rivals Queen’s Park and Morton – they were already discounting their chances of getting any points from those games.
“Arbroath are getting turned over now, which is a big problem for us,” said Ferguson.
“We have Morton, who are just above us, playing Arbroath this Saturday, while Queen’s Park have also still to play Arbroath.
“We have to put that down as three points for Morton and Queen’s Park, but I hope I am wrong.
“We see Arbroath basically of having downed tools on their club and their manager.
“You can see by Arbroath’s result last week against Ayr United where their heads are at, or not trying for their club or manager. Hopefully I am wrong on that.”
However, in a statement issued by the Gayfield side last night, they expressed their disappointment at the comments and stated they are awaiting a retraction from Ferguson.
𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓.#ArbroathFCLive #MonTheLichties pic.twitter.com/mJjreSYdFL
— Arbroath FC (@ArbroathFC) April 18, 2024
“Arbroath Football Club are exteremely disappointed to learn of Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager, Duncan Ferguson’s recent press comments, questioning our players’ professionalism in the final stages of this season’s SPFL cinch Championship,” a statement read.
“Whilst we understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it’s concerning that a fellow members club representative would publicly call into question the sporting integrity of our players attitude and feel this to be extremely disrespectful and damaging, to both Arbroath FC and the Scottish game as a whole.”
“We pride ourselves on the professionalism of our staff at all times and are disappointed to be making this statement.
“We have been contacted by senior officials from ICT and their apology has been accepted, as both clubs have always maintained a good relationship.
“But we await Mr Ferguson’s retraction of said comments prior, bringing this incident to a conclusion.”