News that Alan Savage is set to be Caley Thistle outright owner has been given a massive show of backing from supporters.
One day before the former chairman and current consultant’s £800,000 deadline for shareholders’ backing, he and administrators BDO held a press conference to confirm the League One club is heading out of administration.
This Saturday, Scott Kellacher’s young team host Kelty Hearts in their fourth last fixture of the most trying of seasons which followed relegation from the Championship last summer.
Eighth-placed ICT are three points ahead of Annan Athletic, who occupy the relegation play-off spot and are just one point below their weekend visitors.
A home win this weekend against the managerless Fifers would push Caley Thistle to the cusp of League One safety.
With debts heading towards £4million, Savage, who came in to oversee finances and has ploughed in almost £1m to date, urged the board to take the former Scottish Cup winners into administration last October. Liquidation seemed imminent otherwise.
Debts written off paved way towards exiting administration for ICTFC
Administrators BDO got down to business and the past month’s movements in particular have been crucial.
Key shareholders agreed to write off £3.5m of loans, paving the way for a new owner to come in.
That followed a warning from administrators that liquidation seemed on the cards, with no buyer having been put in place before the March 6 deadline.
At the end of last month, Savage tabled an £800,000 bid for the 30-year-old side, with the need for 100% of the shares to be transferred to him for full ownership.
By Wednesday evening, Savage’s was the only firm offer in the running.
Following Thursday’s press conference, when Savage was declared as the preferred bidder, BDO released the following statement.
It said: “The joint administrators will now work with Alan and his advisers in progressing the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) which, if approved, will see the club successfully exit administration and continue to operate.”
‘Having our future secured should give everyone confidence on and off the pitch.’ – George Moodie
The first port of call for a reaction was from George Moodie, chairman of the ICTFC Supporters’ Trust, which has a shareholding stake in the club.
He said: “This is really positive news and our supporters should really get behind Alan, who has shown great commitment to the club, keeping it afloat this season.
“To learn he is now the preferred bidder to take the club out of administration is something we can all get behind.
“The future was looking bleak at one point, including within the last few weeks. So to get to this stage is such a short space of time is hugely positive.
“The main thing is, on the face of it, we still have a football club next season. Having our future secured should give everyone confidence on and off the pitch.
“Everyone involved in the club – including the supporters’ trust – can now plan ahead.
“Hopefully that will be within League One. Manager Scott Kellacher and his team have done a terrific job to get us into the position we’re in.
“League safety could hopefully be confirmed over the next couple of weeks. That would be absolutely fantastic.
“To end the season on such a high when it started on such a low would be absolutely outstanding.”
‘It would not be the Caley Thistle way to stay up without some late drama.’
Moodie hopes fans continue to rally around the team as there is still work to be done in the closing weeks to secure their status in the third-tier.
He said: “It would not be the Caley Thistle way to stay up without some late drama.
“There is always drama until the bitter end and that’s part and parcel of being a Caley Thistle fan. That’s what makes the club unique. It makes it special to so many supporters.
“There is never a dull moment and I suspect there may yet be more twists and turns before the end of the season.
“I know there is large travelling support planned for the next couple of away games (at Stenhousemuir on April 19 and Montrose on May 3).
“Rest assured, Kell and the boys will have full support for these final four games.
“As long as we finish as a League One club and can come out of administration, that would be for many supporters – including myself – be as big as winning the Scottish Cup.”
‘Having access to the players is great for young fans’
And Moodie explained that the efforts made from the top to the bottom of ICT these days is really help forge strong relationship with the team and management staff.
He added: “Supporters are so important to ever club. Credit to Alan Savage and the wider staff – they embraced the fans fairly early on after the changes were made (as a result of administration).
“We hope we have given that back in terms of running Bar ’94 at the stadium. It’s about (the club) building trust and collaborative working relationships again.
“Scott Kellacher, for example, and his players joining supporters in the bar for the man of the match awards should not be under-estimated.
“Having access to the players is great for the young fans. It creates a connection between the players and the supporters. It’s hugely vital to a successful club going forward.”
‘Best news of the year’; ‘thank you Alan Savage’; ‘time to get the paperwork completed’
Other ICT supporters have taken to social media to voice their opinion following Savage’s bid being given the green light.
Daniel Bryant hailed it as the “best news of the year”, and Mark Maden said it was “the best news ever”.
Robert Carberry suggested Savage “needs a statue and stadium name change to honour his dedication”, with Andy Maclean adding “…that would be the Savage Stadium then.”
On a similar note, The Wyness Shuffle podcast’s Sandy Sutherland said: “Time to get the number out for a bronze sculptor. What a giant step we’ve taken today. Credit to everyone who never gave up and kept pushing to get us there. Let’s get our league status secured now and make it a season to remember.”
Bob Mackenzie said: “Absolutely delighted to hear this news. Time to get the paperwork completed then we can ALL give a sigh of relief.”
Johna Wood added: “Well done Alan Savage. Inverness owes you a debt of gratitude for saving the club”.
Matty Downie suggested Savage now must prove he is thinking beyond the here and now.
He said: “Let’s hope there is a long-term plan, so it is onwards and upwards. And to be fair, BDO didn’t exactly have a lot of offers left to ponder over, they just want the financial side of things agreed to hand the problem over to someone else.”
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