Chairman Ross Morrison says Caley Thistle could still get out of their controversial move to Kelty Hearts even though he believes the move would be beneficial to the club.
The boardroom chief has ploughed in an additional £40,000 to the club this week and says he’s not supporting fans’ calls for Caley Thistle to be placed in administration, which he suggests would be like a defeat.
He also said he takes on board criticism from supporters of ICT’s chief executive officer Scot Gardiner but believes Gardiner is doing “a good job”.
It has been a week of turmoil at the club, which has just been relegated into League One.
Last Friday, fans learned the Inverness club, Scottish Cup winners nine years ago today (May 30), would be shifting their entire training operations to New Central Park in Fife.
That’s the home of Kelty Hearts, also of League One. Talks on the move were at an advanced stage before relegation plunged ICT into the third tier with the Maroons.
Fans have reacted furiously to this move, which the club say is needed to avoid high accommodation costs in Inverness and to attract a better quality of player.
At a supporters’ trust meeting on Tuesday, fans suggested taking the severe hit of administration and a points deduction, possibly around 12-15 points next season, would be the best route.
The vast majority of supporters say they also plan not to renew season tickets to further highlight their dismay, with the future of academy players another big area of concern.
The revelation that Fife Council owns the 3G pitch at the centre of the training arrangement with Kelty Hearts was a fresh source of frustration to worried fans, who don’t want their players to be based 135 miles away.
‘You can get out of deals’
Morrison, in an interview with ICT fan podcast The Wyness Shuffle, said there would be a hefty shortfall by not going to Fife, but said the move is not set completely in stone.
He said: “We have signed an agreement with Kelty.
“When we spoke to (Kelty), we said we knew (the pitch) was the (Fife) Council’s and we said they’d to go and tell them (about the agreement between ICT and Kelty Hearts). It is all cool, everything is fine. They have done it before with Dunfermline and St Johnstone.
“Now someone has told them they are getting £100,000, which they are not getting a sniff of that, we now have to book it direct with Fife Council.
“It is a done deal, but can we get out of it? You can get out of deals.
“The problem is where do we get the money, not to get out of the deal but where do we get the money to supplement the savings we’d make by going down there.
“The opportunity (for change) is still there. We have not moved to Kelty.
“But we’re needing the thick end of probably £400,000 and I can’t see where we get it from.”
Kelty idea came from CEO Gardiner
Morrison revealed he’s dug deep this week to keep ICT ticking and believes training in Kelty makes business sense.
He said: “I can’t put any more money into the club. I’ve put in £1.5million and we have to cut the costs.
“I put £40,000 in this week. That’s the last I’m putting in.
“We’ve been running far too rich for such a long time and that’s maybe the board’s fault for not doing this previously.
“We have been trying to keep it going. It hasn’t worked, so we’ve had to cut the costs now.
“The idea was from Scot (Gardiner). He said it was not above moving where we play but just the team to where we can get a better grade of player, get happier players.
“Kelty was not mentioned at that point. Just the idea of doing it. I still think it works – a lot of people don’t.
“If someone has got better ideas, by all means come and tell us.
“I don’t really want to go to Kelty, but it’s big bucks to get players up here.
“How do you persuade them? You have guys who are 27, 28 with their wives working and a couple of bairns. Are you going to come to Inverness?
“Look at David Wotherspoon. He could have stayed with us last season (leaving for Dundee United in January), but I don’t think his wife wanted him to be up in Inverness all the time.
“If we stayed in Inverness, to try and attract full-time players is difficult.
“To try and attract part-time players, they’d need to be within 20-50 miles, so that’s very limited.”
Administration ‘like a defeat’
Morrison said fans not buying season tickets would be shooting the club in the foot and stressed he would not support going down the route of administration.
He added: “If the board want to put the club into administration, I won’t be on the board.
“It would be a defeat for us to go into administration. You would lose jobs, the creditors would lose their money, so I don’t see that being a clever idea.
“I have done six years (as chairman) so I am looking for a successor for my job.
“Administration has been around the corner for Caley Thistle for such a long time. When other regimes were in charge, it was the same.
“It might have been a successful football team, but it’s never been a successful business.”
‘Anything can be done’ with funds
ICT Supporters’ Trust representative George Moodie was one of many on the podcast, which has just been released, who told Morrison fans want to see Gardiner go.
The chairman said he’s listening to those concerns, adding: “I think Scot is doing a good job.
“Until a certain point, I think he’s sometimes a bit abrasive the way he goes about things. His knowledge is fantastic.
“If the board want me to go, I’m happy to go. For the benefit of the club, anything can be done as long as the funds are there to do it.”