A Caley Thistle podcaster reckons keeping Scott Kellacher in place next season would be the ideal starting point once administration is banished.
Sandy Sutherland, of The Wyness Shuffle, is delighted former chairman Alan Savage is the preferred bidder for the League One club as they progress towards a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) and putting this term’s admin strife behind them.
Savage’s £800,000 offer satisfied administrators BDO last week and, vitally, the shareholders, who are fully poised to transfer their shares to The Orion Group chief.
On the park, Kellacher – who replaced Duncan Ferguson as the boss when administration kicked in last October – has guided a young team out of the relegation zone.
ICT suffered a set-back on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at home to Kelty Hearts, but a victory at promotion hopefuls Stenhousemuir this weekend will push them closer to safety.
With just three games left, eighth-placed Inverness are three points in front of play-off place-occupying Annan Athletic, who tackle newly-crowned champions Arbroath on Saturday.
Savage, Kellacher and Christie praised by ICT podcaster
Sutherland said: “Alan deserves a lot of credit – he didn’t have to step into this situation.
“It was obvious we were heading into a very tricky situation (in the search for a new owner).
“Alan came in, took his time, and sorted the club out financially and ensured we had a squad to compete.
“He was upfront by saying administration was the best route and that’s where we’ve gone. We’re just about out of it now.
“If you’d said to me after the 15-point deduction, with three games to go, we’d be out of the drop-zone, I’d 100% have taken it.
“We have been restricted with what we could do on and off the pitch, but we’ve been undeterred and kept pushing. We’re on the brink of making it a successful season, especially if we’re going to be under the ownership of Alan Savage.
‘I’m keen to see what Scott Kellacher and Charlie Christie can do without being under cloud of administration’
“Alan has been here for around 40 years and has the business acumen – head and shoulders above anyone else we’ve had at the club for a number of season.
“He will look to get people closer to home involved in the club and he’s made it clear that anyone is welcome to join once things are done and dusted.
“He’s realistic in terms of if you’re looking for success in owning a lower league club in Scotland, it’s not about how much money you make, the success is about what you get on the pitch. That can’t be anything other than a good thing.
“He’s obviously happy with Charlie Christie as the chief executive officer, and Scott Kellacher as the head coach. I agree with him – they have done incredibly well.
“I’m keen to see what they can do without being under the cloud of administration.
“The fundamentals are there to make us a good team again. We just need to get over the line on and off the pitch – and see where it takes us.”
Bolstering the team and boardroom
Sutherland anticipates once administration is over for ICT, there will be plenty going on at Caledonian Stadium to prepare his club for a brighter future.
He said:Â “BDO seem optimistic about getting the CVA through with the minimum of fuss. Hopefully everything will work out for us.
“It will be a busy summer for us.
“We’re looking to get a relatively new team on the pitch and Alan is probably going to have to look at bringing more people into the boardroom because we’re a bit light.
“He’s spoken about the importance of having (director) Graeme Bennett involved, which makes sense and we can build up from there.”
‘Theoretically, it could be over this weekend, because if we beat Stenny and Arbroath beat Annan, that’s a six-point gap with two games to go’
Sutherland reckons ICT have a great chance to go for the jugular and – perhaps – all-but-seal their League One spot this weekend at Ochilview.
He said: “Stenhousemuir had gone five straight wins before they played us, but since we beat them they have not won in their last six games.
“Our record against them has been good this season. I hope it’s like the Cove Rangers game (the recent 3-0 win at the Balmoral Stadium) where they are looking to win and we are able to get the win.
“The 4-1 win over Stenhousemuir (on March 11) was probably our best performance this season and what we even more staggering was we did it without (injured Aberdeen loanee) Alfie Bavidge, who was a massive source of goals for us. He was also massive source of wins, he earned us several one-goal victories”
Sutherland added: “Theoretically, it could be over this weekend, because if we beat Stenny and Arbroath beat Annan, that’s a six-point gap with two games to go. They won’t catch us on goal difference (ICT are 29 goals better off).”
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