Regardless of having the best away record aside from the Old Firm — with four wins on their travels — fewer fans are following the team to away matches.

Fewer than 25 fans signed up for the supporters' club coach to attend the 2-1 away victory at Kilmarnock — the minimum required for the supporters' club to break even.

Revenue from away travel, along with membership fees, are the main sources of income for the supporters' club, which has around 250 members.

Ali Williamson, spokesman for the club, urged anyone planning to attend this Saturday's match against St Mirren at Love Street to contact the club soon. "It's leading to a crisis," he said. "We had to cancel the bus going down to Kilmarnock because we couldn't get the minimum number of people.

"If we take a 40 or 50 seat bus down there with 25 people on it we are not making any money for the club. A lot of it will be down to the credit crunch because everybody is feeling the pinch. We are not in crisis yet but it's a sad fact."

Around 500 fewer supporters watched the 3-1 home defeat to Dundee United on Saturday than the last home fixture against Hearts.

Only 3560 people witnessed Caley Thistle's sixth home defeat of the season so far, in an encounter which generated attendances of more than 4000 twice last season.

The defeat gives Inverness the worst home record in the SPL and yesterday afternoon patience seemed to be wearing thin among fans, who used an internet message board to speculate on a successor to Craig Brewster.

Stinging criticism included accusations that players are suffering from a crisis of confidence.

The club have achieved only nine wins and five draws from the 36 matches played this year.

"The fans are not happy," Mr Williamson acknowledged. "The home form speaks for itself and we are so frustrated.

"A lot of the fans think Brewster's tactics are terrible and that eventually he will pay the price." Caley Thistle captain Grant Munro described the record of five points from nine games in Inverness as embarrassing. He said the team failed to create chances when attacking Dundee United and seemed deflated after going behind, and were unable to recover.

"We are not producing it for the fans and understandably they are not happy, but we are not happy either.

"We didn't try to go out and play badly in the second half and lose goals. It's just the way things are going at the moment."

Caley Thistle director of football Graeme Bennett understood frustration among supporters but stressed the club wanted to win every game.

He plans to continue contract discussions with Michael Fraser and Ian Black this week, adding Brewster's contract, which is due to expire in August next year, was being looked at by the board.

Brewster said statistically both sides were evenly matched on Saturday and his men were arguably the better side in the first half.

He was happy with Jamie Duff's performance at right-back, he said, saying he wanted to make only one change to the defence.

He acknowledged the supporters could play a role when the players were on the pitch.

"The people in the crowd can make their own decisions," he said. "I am the manager and I've got to make the decisions for what I see best.

"But at the end of the day it's the players on the park who are key. In the first half we made things happen, in the second we didn't."

sports@inverness-courier.co.uk

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