Caley Thistle boss Scott Kellacher has revealed how his family let him prioritise guiding the troubled club to League One safety.
The emotional head coach reflected on Saturday’s swashbuckling 3-0 home win over champions Arbroath, which helped secure their place in next season’s third-tier.
The club were docked 15 points in October when administration was activated – with long-time coach and assistant manager Kellacher handed the role when Duncan Ferguson was let go.
He, along with number two Billy Mckay, and coaches Ross Jack and Gordon Nicolson, led a young group of players to 13 wins in 24 games to move into seventh spot.
Ninth-placed Annan Athletic lost 3-1 at relegated Dumbarton at the weekend, with ICT moving above Kelty Hearts on goal difference.
This Saturday, Caley Thistle travel to Montrose for the final game of the most draining of seasons – with plenty of reasons to smile.
Wife Audrey ‘let me get on with it’
Kellacher was seen with his wee boy Karson on the pitch on Saturday night as news came through they were over the survival line due to Annan’s loss, and he says sharing the joy with his nearest and dearest meant the world to him.
He said: “It was a very special moment, to be honest – they’ve not seen much of me, the family.
“(Wife) Audrey, (son) Karson and (daughter) Sienna. She (Audrey) just let me get on with it because she knows how important it is to myself, Billy and the club.
“She knows what it means to me, and to share the moment with the wee man, the wife and my mother down there, I’m living the dream.
“I’m a local boy and nobody wants it more – to get this club where I think it should be.
“I can’t thank everyone enough – the fans, everybody.
“I can’t describe how happy I am.”
Tunnel vision served Inverness well
Championship-bound League One winners Arbroath drew plenty of criticism from ICT fans last week when they made eight changes to fall to a 5-1 defeat at Annan, which drew the Galabankies to within one point of Inverness.
Arbroath co-bosses David Gold and Colin Hamilton made the same number of changes for their Highland trip, returning to close to full strength.
It was a fixture Caley Thistle could easily have folded in after three defeats against the Gayfield side this term.
However, goals from Keith Bray and Mckay either side of Paul Allan’s penalty drove Inverness to a deserved and vital victory.
Despite a fire alarm at Dumbarton leading to an anxious wait at the Caledonian Stadium for the Annan result, Kellacher’s team hit the points total they always thought would be enough to secure safety.
He said: “It’s what we wanted – we all wanted to be together, ourselves, the fans, everybody.
“I always said right from the start we had to concentrate on what we did.
“Early on, probably two or three months ago, we gave ourselves a target we had to get to – and we got to that on Saturday. It is quite fitting it has kept us in this league.
“If I wanted to play a team, I wanted to play Arbroath’s best team.
“They put their best team out.
“We’ve played them a few times and they’re a good team and good luck to them going forward.
“But I genuinely believe we are every bit as good as them – we showed that on Saturday.
“We just need to look forward now and build.”
‘Start building and get this club back to where it belongs’ – Scott Kellacher
Former chairman Alan Savage is waiting to discover whether his £800,000 bid for the club will be accepted by shareholders to lift ICT out of administration.
Kellacher will then bid to keep as many of the squad together for 2025-26, with the chance to table contract offers, and bring in new faces.
He insists his first shot at management has been a success forged from collective effort.
He added: “I’ve tried to step up and drive the club in terms of trying to pull everything together, but so many people have played their part, so I have to thank them.
“This is my first job at this level in football, and it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in football in my life.
“I’m so proud of everybody, because we had to dig deep and we did that.
“I’ve been asked every week about what was going on behind the scenes, and I never knew.
“I probably need to thank them (Alan Savage and CEO Charlie Christie) for that, because it let us concentrate on the football side of it.
“We could easily have been caught up in what’s going on off the field, but they let us focus on the on-field stuff, and I can’t ask for much more than the backing they’ve given us.
“They have shown us their support, and the fans have been absolutely brilliant.
“They have backed us and followed us, and I am so happy for the whole city.
“Now we really need to start building and getting this club back to where it belongs.”
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