There is a lot of hurt and pain surrounding Caley Thistle right now. Supporters are angry and disillusioned after seeing their club plunge into League One on the back of their play-off final defeat to Hamilton Accies.
During and after Saturday’s second leg, fans turned their fury towards the board and mainly chief executive Scot Gardiner, who has been on the unpleasant end of plenty of chants for much of this year.
It’s clear they would like the figurehead to leave the club this summer, and whether Gardiner in fact leads the much-needed and expected overhaul at Inverness remains to be seen.
Many fans also want to see manager Duncan Ferguson walk, too.
One thing I will say is that the ex-Everton caretaker coach truly cares and is hurting as much as anyone he could not quite keep the club up.
The crushing disappointment when he spoke to the press on Saturday night was etched on the face of the 52-year-old.
Most seasons, 42 points means safety
Caley Thistle finished ninth in the Championship, one point below Queen’s Park, and just three points away from mid-table Morton.
When Ferguson arrived, the team had one point from their opening six matches under Billy Dodds.
Their finishing tally of 42 points would have kept them automatically safe in almost every Championship season, except for one year when Airdrie went down via the play-offs in 2008.
Ferguson, who signed a three-year contract in September, wants the chance to guide the Highlanders back.
Whether he will be allowed that opportunity, as he says, lies in the hands of chairman Ross Morrison.
League One means plastic pitches
Ferguson repeatedly expressed frustration when his side struggled on synthetic surfaces such as at Airdrie in the Championship, and at Montrose and Hamilton during the play-offs.
If he does stay, he will have to get used to plastic pitches – because, in League One, only Dumbarton and Arbroath have grass pitches, alongside the one at the Caledonian Stadium.
Alloa Athletic, Annan Athletic, Cove Rangers, Kelty Hearts, Montrose, Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir are all plastic venues.
These clubs will be ICT’s opponents from August and there is a major rebuild needed on and off the pitch to get a competitive side ready for then.
Only a handful of players remain under contract and Ferguson admits many of the squad may well have fixed up their futures long before that final kick on Saturday.
Can Caley Thistle afford to remain full-time?
Will the club go part-time? That’s another key topic for the board to consider as the outcome of their battery farm scheme appeal worth a reported £3.4m hinges on the verdict of the Scottish Government.
Highland Council rejected it in March and the club have been looking to cover cashflow shortfalls since.
Can they afford to remain full-time? Would going part-time hamper their chances of promotion back up to the Championship? How can they recruit the standard of player required to become league winners, or at least play-off champions, like Accies this weekend?
Follow Hamilton’s route to return
On Saturday, Hamilton manager John Rankin spoke with a sense of relief that Accies are out of League One. It’s not a pleasant division.
Falkirk clinched that title in some style, without one defeat this season, but they spent four years out of the Championship – that’s certainly not appealing to anyone at Inverness.
Reset has been a word linked to Hamilton, who regrouped a year ago and kept under-pressure Rankin in situ.
The decisions made by Ross Morrison and his board now will lay the course for Caley Thistle’s long-term future.
Will there be smiles back on faces in 12 months’ time?
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