Goalkeeping coach and Scottish Cup winner Ryan Esson has not closed the door on a future return to Caley Thistle.
The former Aberdeen shot-stopper’s 16-year association with Inverness has drawn to a close with Stuart Garden taking his place at the club, which is preparing for life in League One following relegation last term.
The Caley Jags have pledged to go with local players as their core in the third tier.
Youngsters can follow Christie’s lead
Esson is in favour of that approach and says his own disappointment of not landing a new contract is tempered with his desire to see many of the players he guided as the club’s under-18 coach get their chance in the first team.
He said: “As one door shuts, hopefully another will open for me.
“There are only a certain number of coaching jobs available in Scotland, so it’s difficult. I will see what’s out there.
“Ultimately, I’d hope to come back to Caley Thistle one day. I have got a real affection for the club and I really hope the club get success, especially if they do play the young boys in the team.
“I hope one of them goes on to have a career like Ryan Christie, going to the Euros with Scotland and starring in the English Premier League, as Ryan is for Bournemouth.
“I know the group that’s coming through and there is real quality in the 18s.
“This period for the club might open the door for these lads and I hope the same for myself.”
‘Fans have been great with me’
Esson has got the qualifications to kick on his career, with the UEFA A licences for goalkeeping and outfield play in the bag, with the pro licence a longer-term goal.
The 44-year-old moved to the Highlands from Hereford Town in 2008 and established himself as a fans’ favourite by helping the club win the 2015 Scottish Cup and qualify for the Europa League.
That bond with the supporters is something he will forever cherish.
He said: “I just want to thank the supporters for their backing and support over the years. I really appreciate it.
“I have become good friends with many of the fans throughout my time here.
“The fans have always been great with me and a lot of them recently have been asking what’s happening with me.
“Caley Thistle have given me a job for 15 years. I’ve enjoyed some really good times.
“The best year was when we won the First Division under Terry Butcher (in 2010) because of the way we achieved it.
“I think we ended up with a 24-point swing (against title rivals Dundee). We were 15 points behind.
“I remember being at (team-mate) Roy McBain’s house at Christmas with a few of the boys and I told them I felt we’d still win the league. I really believed that.
“Once we got some results and performances together, we went on to win it and I played every game that year.”
Caley Jags stopped Celtic’s title hunt
Returning to the Premiership offered a great platform for Inverness as a club as they punched above their weight, with Celtic games remembered especially fondly by Esson.
He added: “The year we were relegated (in 2009), was my breakthrough season. I wasn’t sure whether Terry wanted me at first, but after that season in the First Division, he saw a different side to me and what I was about.
“We stopped Celtic winning the league when we beat them 3-2. We were bottom six, but we played Celtic after the league split because we had a game to catch up on. (After a Charlie Mulgrew own goal), Grant Munro and Shane Sutherland scored with volleys.
“We also stopped Celtic winning the treble the year we won the Scottish Cup.
“There have been lots of big games. Another Celtic one was when we completed a calendar year without an away defeat when we drew 2-2 at Parkhead (in November 2010). We were down 2-0 but Richie Foran and Grant Munro scored.
“I remember down at Hearts, Conor Pepper scored to get us a 2-2 draw, which was another huge moment.
“Another one I remember was when we beat Raith Rovers 4-3 at home (in April 2010). We had kept five clean sheets on the bounce and Raith took the lead before we came back to lead 3-1.
“Raith pulled it back to 3-3 and Richie Foran scored with an overhead kick and that was the day when I knew we’d win the league.
“Dundee would have thought we were dropping two points, but we scored the winner in the 96th minute and it was a massive blow to them.”
Disappointed by his Inverness exit
Esson’s exit from Inverness this summer was a sore one with one brief discussion with the club leading to no further contract talks.
He said: “No one contacted me to say that was me done at the football club and they were going in a different direction with different coaching staff coming in. That’s the real disappointment for me. But that’s football.”
Caley Thistle were contacted for a response.
Highland derbies and full houses
However, Esson says he will depart with plenty of positive memories from his time at the club.
He said: “Success was achieved by everybody working together and that’s what the club needs to get back to.
“We were getting 4,500-5,000 fans in those last few months when we won the title (in 2010).
“When we played Ross County, it was a full house. When we both got promoted, we seemed to lose it a bit in terms of fan numbers.
“The next two years, I think I won every (annual club) award, which meant a lot. The best of the lot was the players’ player award, because that’s my team-mates voting for me.
“I respected that so much, because they have obviously appreciated what I contributed.
“It’s also very unusual for a goalie to win awards – especially in a side where Adam Rooney scored so many goals.”
