Caley Thistle podcaster Sandy Sutherland reckons the club’s financial woes began after failing to reset following relegation from the top-flight in 2017.
The Highlanders, who are now in League One following relegation from the Championship in May, could be set to enter administration.
With a 15-point punishment from the SPFL and severe cuts to staff numbers likely, on and off the park, it’s going to be a rough ride for all at the Caledonian Stadium.
Former club chairman Alan Savage has been working as a consultant for ICT in recent months, paying off bills by injecting more than £200,000, while trying to secure lifeline investment.
However, it now seems likely that BDO, the accountancy firm which oversaw the liquidation of Rangers, and were administrators for Hearts and Dunfermline Athletic, will take charge if administration becomes a reality in the coming weeks.
Administration always on the cards
Sutherland, of The Wyness Shuffle podcast, said: “The news isn’t really surprising. Alan Savage has been speaking recently not just about the current losses, but projected losses (of £1.7million until the end of this season) and the numbers show it is unsustainable. There was only going to be one outcome.
“It has reached this point not for the want of trying, with Alan and others looking at every possible way out of this. Administration is the only card to play.
“Alan Savage is right to suggest this is a reset. The club has been run shambolically – and not just over the last couple of years. Things have been difficult since we dropped out of the Premiership (in 2017).
“We could look at the ways and means of how the previous people tried to get money into the club, but that’s all well documented. This is the aftermath and it is going to be brutal and ruthless.
“A lot of good people are going to lose their jobs over this. There are people who have given years and, in some cases, decades to club. They will lose their livelihoods through no fault of their own.
“We all know people within the club and that’s the worst thing. It comes just a few months before Christmas. It’s dreadful.”
This won’t be an ‘overnight fix’
Sutherland wonders whether manager Duncan Ferguson, who has already seen his wage slashed twice within his 12 months in charge, will still be in charge if administration happens.
Experienced players could also be released to free up funds, which could make staying in the league, never mind a promotion push, a real uphill struggle.
He said:Â “Immediately you wonder who will be available to play for us and I suppose who is going to be managing us.
“You would have to assume they’d have to have someone from within the club in place to take over (as manager).
“To go on to minus six points, as things stand, would be difficult to come back from, although not impossible.
“One or two teams down near the bottom had really bad starts and they seem to be turning the corner. Look at Arbroath, who we play on Saturday. Teams are improving.
“If we can turn some of these draws into wins, who’s to say, we can’t push up the table, but it will be really difficult.
“It’s already a young squad and, with the possibility of administration, it will be a really depleted squad. It’s a tough ask.
“We need to find out in the coming days what the landscape will look like going forward – this will not be an overnight fix. It will take a long time to put right.”
Fans’ trust pulling everyone together
Sutherland believes the recent efforts from the ICT Supporters’ Trust highlight the united drive from fans to help the club on all fronts.
Volunteers led by trust board members have helped revamp areas around the stadium, including the sports bar, to bring in more people on match days.
He added: “The sports bar, if done right, can become a hub for supporters pre-match. I have been in a couple of times and enjoyed it.
“I was lucky enough to get a pint there with my old man and one of my best pals at the game on Saturday. That’s the kind of social interaction it encourages.
“The work the trust have put in to make it happen has been fantastic. I know it’s ongoing and there is more fundraising plans going forward to get it into an even better shape.
“The trust will probably have more challenging times ahead on the back of the club’s administration. But the work and effort they have put in over the summer has been brilliant. They are working folk, like the rest of us, but they found time to put it right. All credit to them.”
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