Goalkeeper Mark Ridgers vows to do all he can to help keep Caley Thistle in the Championship – and avoid people fearing for their jobs.
The proud Invernessian was on Hearts’ books as an emerging talent when financial woes led to the Edinburgh club’s top-flight relegation following a 15-point deduction in 2014.
Today, the Caley Jags host League One side Montrose in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-final, following Tuesday’s 0-0 draw away from home.
Defeat for ICT would send the Highlanders down to third tier and the consequences of that financially could well be bleak.
The tie is level as we face Montrose on Saturday at the Caledonian Stadium
Get right behind the team this weekend
COME ON ICTFC 🔵🔴
Ticket Info: https://t.co/CbpkEThVrX pic.twitter.com/ITr0ypXQg9
— Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC (@ICTFC) May 8, 2024
‘It is still possible’ to stay in league
Ridgers, who has a club record 90 shut-outs from 277 appearances, hopes the team can see off Montrose, then finalists Alloa Athletic or Hamilton next week to avoid demotion.
He said: “My time at Hearts was difficult. We went into administration and the club was relegated.
“We saw a lot of people lose their jobs and financially there seems a similar situation brewing.
“The chairman here, Ross Morrison, has come out pleading for cash.
“But, as players, that is nothing to do with us. Our focus is keeping this club in the league and that’s what we have to do.
“We can still do it. As the season progressed, our aim was always to stay in the league. It’s still possible. We have a big game on Saturday and if we get through, we have two more games to try and stay up.
“The objective of the players is to keep this club in the league. Everything else can be dealt with afterwards.”
Ferguson takes some heat off squad
Ridgers is determined to preserve Championship football for reasons extending beyond 90 minutes of football.
He said: “I’m from the city. I have friends who are fans.
“There are people at this club who I have met and I’m friendly with them and their jobs are at risk.
“The pressure is two-fold. Firstly, to keep this club in the league and, secondly, these people deserve the opportunity to stay at this club.
“There are aspects which they can’t affect, but we can, as players, help by winning on Saturday. We have to keep this club in the league and see what happens after that.
“The manager has taken the pressure off the players a little bit.
“But we’re not daft, we’re human beings, we know how big this is for the city and the club.
“There are a lot of good people at this club. If it goes wrong, they suffer as well, not just the players.
“We know what we have to do, which is to win on Saturday.”
One win away from fifth position
Ridgers, who pulled off several key stops to deny Montrose an advantage on Tuesday, underlined his belief that Inverness’s squad deserves to be in the Championship next season.
He added: “We finished ninth in the table and were only one win away from finishing fifth.
“When you look at the table, it’s not good, but when you look at results and performances under the manager, we’ve just let ourselves down in one or two games.
“That is unbelievable – but we were one win away from finishing in fifth place.
“We’re confident we’re good enough and we have shown that in performances throughout the season. We just need to do it again.
“We’re at home and hopefully it will be a lovely day weather-wise and our focus, no matter how we do it, is to win.”
Ridgers recalls spot-kick progression
In 2022, Inverness reached the Premiership play-off final and, in the semis, won a remarkable penalty shoot-out against Arbroath after drawing 0-0 home and away and remaining all-square after extra-time.
Ridgers, a shoot-out hero that night, knows progress can be made in more ways than one against Montrose.
He said: “It is like cup football, over two legs.
“If you look at the Arbroath play-off two years ago, you don’t have to win the game to go through, although you don’t want to lose.
“It is now win-or-bust. The players know that. We will give it 100% and hopefully we can get across the line.”
In the other semi, League One runners-up Hamilton host third-placed Alloa with the tie sitting at 2-2 following Tuesday’s first leg.