Alan Savage is backing Caley Thistle to rise to the challenge of staying in League One after administration was confirmed and a heavy SPFL points deduction sent the club bottom of the table.
Former club chairman Savage has vowed to pay the costs of administration, which could be up to £500,000, as appointed administrators BDO seek a suitable buyer for financially-embattled Inverness over the next 12 to 14 weeks.
Savage, chief of The Orion Group, also plans to try to find employment for anyone who loses their jobs within the football club as a result of administrators cutting costs at the Caley Jags in the days and weeks ahead.
James Stephen, Malcolm Cohen and Shane Crooks of accountancy firm BDO will determine who stays and goes from positions on and off the park at Caley Thistle, as they seek to find a route back on to a solid footing for Inverness.
Since taking on the voluntary financial consultant role this summer, Savage has already put £350,000 into ICT to pay off pressing bills, including to HMRC and kit suppliers Puma.
‘We can still be competitive’ – Savage
Savage met BDO representative on Tuesday night and discussions between the firm and interim Inverness chief executive Charlie Christie will kick off start from Wednesday morning, with a detailed press conference update pencilled in for Thursday.
ICT, who were seventh in League One, have been given an automatic SPFL points deduction of 15 points for going into administration, taking them to the foot of the third-tier on -3 points – 12 points below this Saturday’s hosts Dumbarton.
After that match, there will be 25 fixtures to go to escape immediate relegation to League Two by finishing bottom or the potential drop by landing in the second-bottom relegation play-off berth.
Moments after meeting James Stephen, Savage told the Press and Journal: I had a preliminary meeting tonight, but I’ve been in discussions (with BDO) for the past few weeks. He’s the right guy to help get this club back on the straight and narrow.
“For being in a dire situation, we could not be in a better position. James is logical and pragmatic – I’m optimistic.
“We can make enough cuts (to the squad) to still be competitive.
“We hope the (remaining) players get a lift from what the administrator says. I have got a good feeling about it.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure we stay in League One. We want to come out of it with a decent enough side and I’m sure we will.
“People have said to me administration needed to happen five years ago when the club was losing shed-loads of money. Something had to be done – you can’t keep on spending money.”
Savage is convinced, through the administration process, the Highlanders – relegated from the Championship last season – can get back on the right track after a chaotic few years.
He said: “If the club had focused on football and not concert companies, we’d be in better shape.
“Nothing inspires people more than looking after our players such as Aaron Doran and also building the local community up.
“I am absolutely certain we can get back to that. And that will be my aim for the club.”
Administration official tonight
Caley Thistle were officially confirmed as being in the hands of administrators from tonight (Tuesday).
BDO handled Rangers’ liquidation and and were also administrators for Hearts and Dunfermline.
A spokesperson at BDO said: “We can confirm a formal appointment has been made and Inverness Caledonian Thistle is now in administration.
“We understand this will be a difficult and uncertain time for the club, its staff, its loyal fan base and the local community.
“The administrators will be in a position to provide further information and their plan to seek to secure the long term future of the club in due course.”
Caley Jags sent to the bottom of League One
In confirming Inverness’ points deduction, an SPFL statement said: “The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has today confirmed the imposition of a 15-point deduction for Inverness Caledonian Thistle, as per SPFL rules on clubs suffering an insolvency event.”
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