Interim Caley Thistle chairman Scott Young is calling on fans and businesses to join the journey as the League One club seek to exit administration.
Young, who doubles as ICT supporters’ liaison officer (SLO), stepped into the leading boardroom position after Panos Thomas resigned last October.
Former chairman Alan Savage has since injected more than £1million to keep the administration-hit club going this season and is now the preferred bidder with his £800,000 offer now expected to be accepted by shareholders in return for a 100% stake.
Scott Kellacher has been head coach of the Caley Jags since replacing Duncan Ferguson in October.
The team are eighth in the division with three games to go, leading Annan Athletic by three points.
A win at Stenhousemuir this Saturday, allied with champions Arbroath beating Annan would all but keep the Highlanders in League One due to their goal difference being vastly superior to the Galabankies. Finishing ninth would mean a two-legged relegation play-off for ICT.
‘Alan Savage has put his money where is mouth is’ – Scott Young
Young explained how even in the short-term, money can be put to good use within their home venue.
He told The Press and Journal: “I’ve come in to help the club. My only want was for the club to do well and come through this period.
“Alan Savage has put his money where his mouth is. He knows the club as well as anyone.
“What we lost in recent years was confidence, not just from the fans, but from local businesses and potential investors.
“Why would people invest in a club that was staring down the barrel of administration?
“There are still a lot of bridges to be made up, but hopefully after administration, we can start building them again and we will get more businesses back on board and bring in more revenue through advertising and sponsorship.
“That will then allow us to invest in the playing staff.
“I know Alan has alluded to a potential stadium move in future, but the Caledonian Stadium itself needs ongoing maintenance work, and general repairs.
“Hopefully some of the finance from the extra income we hopefully bring in will be used to improve the matchday experience for fans.
“Hopefully businesses and fans can see we have hit rock bottom, but they can now get on board to take us on that journey upwards, which is what Inverness wants and needs.
“The hope was we’d be out of administration by the end of April or by the end of the season on May 3, so only a few days of a difference. That is still the plan as far as I’m aware.
“There is a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of BDO and creditors.
“The sooner we can get out of administration, the sooner we can start planning for players (contracts) for next season, as well as working out a playing budget.”
Young praises ICTFC staff loyalty
Young, who aims to assist in any way possible post-administration, praised the club’s employees for showing resilience and getting down to business when the going has been tough this term.
He said: “The playing staff as well as those behind the scenes have shown a great amount of loyalty because over the six months they have been wondering whether they had a job or the club having a future or not.
“But they have stuck by us, while we have tried to be as reassuring as we can be in difficult circumstances.
“We have excellent staff, who are hard-working, and their loyalty really has been incredible.
“Hopefully, we can get out of administration and start to make our way forward and build ourselves up again.”
Doubling up in role as supporters’ liaison officer as BDO take lead
Young admits those initial weeks of being thrust into the limelight with administration pending last winter was a real challenge to him and staff as administrators BDO grasped control in a bid to find an owner.
He added: “The first month was the worst. It was stressful, and you saw staff members and players not knowing where the club was going.
“We made the incredibly tough decision to go into administration. There was no financial way out, but we had the support of Alan throughout the administration process.
“Once administration started, a lot of it was taken out of my hands, because BDO took control of the club.
“We could not have board meetings and the like, so I and the other board members have tried to be as hands-on as we can be to help.
“I came on the board to help with the fans’ side of it. We have, along with (new business and commercial manager) Andrew Benjamin got a lot of the corporate and hospitality packages up and running.
“We also had the club’s 30th anniversary dinner, and I have attended the fans’ meetings and away matches to answer fans’ questions as part of my other role as supporters’ liaison officer.”
Message to fans – ‘Keep the faith’
Young urged ICT’s fans to continue to back Kellacher’s young side as they seek to secure their League One status.
He said: “My message for supporters is to keep the faith.
“They have been excellent and even bought season tickets last year when there were some doubts, but we confirmed that money went directly into supporting the club.
“They go in their numbers to away games and are very vocal compared to the away fans we get at our stadium. We take at least a couple of hundred on average to the away games, sometimes more.
“Last weekend, we had just over 1,800 at our home game against Kelty, so they’ve really backed us.
“We still need a few points to keep ourselves up. As much as we look for Annan’s results, it is in our hands.”
For more Caley Thistle news and updates visit our dedicated page and join our Facebook group.
Conversation