Former Caley Thistle assistant manager Barry Wilson says he and ex-boss Billy Dodds must accept their share of the blame for the club’s relegation.
The 52-year-old – whose skills as an ICT winger over two spells helped the club hit the top-flight 20 years ago this month – is gutted to see the club drop to League One.
On Saturday, they lost 3-2 against Championship play-off opponents Hamilton Accies, whose 5-3 aggregate score took them up and hauled Inverness down.
Wilson was Dodds’ assistant when one point from five league games saw them shown the door by the board.
Former managers John Robertson and Charlie Christie took the team for the 1-0 loss to Dundee United in September, then Duncan Ferguson was installed as the new boss.
By the end of the campaign, ICT had gathered 42 points and were one point below Queen’s Park and one win away from mid-table Morton.
With crunch talks going on at boardroom level, Wilson speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, says the fault lies in several areas over the past 10 months.
He said: “Everyone has got to take a share of it. We were not blameless either. We had a bad start and that cost us our jobs.
“I blamed a couple of years of playing a month’s extra football. We had the (Premiership) play-off final in 2022 and the Scottish Cup final last year.
“We didn’t have much time this season to get the players ready. Five games into the season, Billy and I lost our jobs, but there were 31 games to go when we left.
“So, there’s blame there with everyone – the board, the management and the players.”
Ferguson future among many matters for Caley Jags to resolve
Wilson says whether Ferguson is the boss for the League One kick-off “remains to be seen”, and he added: “The board will be discussing loads of matters, not just Duncan’s future.
“Some fans would like to back Duncan, some would like to see him go. I hear all the noise.
“It is a tough one and I feel for everyone at the club.”
Wilson – who helped ICT rise from Division Three (which is now League Two) all the way to the top table – felt letting two senior players move on during the winter transfer window was a risk which didn’t pay off.
He said: “It was strange to lose a couple of experienced boys like Sean Welsh and David Carson.
“Duncan let them go in January and brought in three or four young loanees. That was strange.
“When you are in these battles, you need experience. Duncan Ferguson thought otherwise, but it didn’t work out.
“Unfortunately for the club and everyone concerned, it’s dark days at the minute.”
Wilson hopes, when the dust settles on the weekend’s heartache, fans will rally round the team and roar them on for a promotion push next season.
He said: “The main thing is that the club are up there contending. The home fans will want to watch a winning side, no matter what league they’re in.
“They want entertained – but they want winning football as well. If they can get that and get off to a fast start, then hopefully the home crowd will back them, and they can get back up to the Championship in one season.”
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