Inverness Caley Thistle goalkeeper Mark Ridgers believes club deserve more credit for avoiding a Brechin City-esque free fall through the divisions as Glebe Park outfit prepare to return to Highland capital with Kevin McHattie and Anthony McDonald in tow
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Mark Ridgers believes Brechin City’s fall through the SPFL pyramid should put Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s last few seasons into perspective.
Brechin visit the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday for a second round match in the SPFL Trust Trophy, but this weekend has come about in very different circumstances to the last time the teams faced off.
Four-and-a-half years ago in the 2017/18 season, Brechin were a second-tier outfit just like Inverness.
Admittedly that season was historic for all the wrong reasons as far as the Glebe Park outfit were concerned, as they became the first senior Scottish team in 126 years to fail to win a league game all season.
That negative momentum carried them into League One, League Two and – eventually – last season’s Highland League.
Now Brechin are rebuilding and showing good form in the fifth tier though, so Ridgers is not expecting an easy time of things come Saturday afternoon.
“It’s scary but that’s football, and I think that’s sometimes where this club doesn’t get enough credit,” the goalkeeper said of Brechin’s descent.
“Having been relegated, and the financial position we found ourselves in, we’ve still managed to compete all the time.
“This is my sixth season here, and we’ve missed out on the play-offs just by one position, got to the play-offs twice and the third time it was postponed.
“We’ve managed to do that on a budget that’s within reason of what the club can do.
“You look at the likes of Brechin and how quickly they can fall through the leagues, and that’s one of those things.
“They’re on the up now, and they’ve got good people at the club, so it’s going to be a tricky one.”
Familiar faces return
Tomorrow’s SPFL Trust Trophy contest between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Brechin City will see two familiar faces return to the Highland capital.
Kevin McHattie and Anthony McDonald, who both turned out for the Caley Jags in recent years, are now among Brechin’s ranks and will be looking to upset their former employers.
For some at Caley Thistle, it will provide an opportunity for a welcome reunion with past teammates.
Mark Ridgers played alongside McHattie in particular at both Hearts and Kilmarnock before Inverness, so the shot stopper is well aware of the threats posed by the former ICT men.
“I know Kevin well,” Ridgers said.
“He’s a good lad who had a bad injury, but he’s managed to get back playing again and I know he has scored a couple of screamers for Brechin. He’s got a brilliant left foot on him, so it will be good to see him again.
“Anthony was a nice boy when he was here, we got on quite well. It’s a bit of a reunion but at the end of the day we’ve got a job to do.
“We want to do well in that cup, so we’ll go out there and be really professional to try and win and get into the next round.”
ICT know how tricky the tie could become. They have had scares against Highland League opposition in cups before, so Ridgers is not expecting Caley Thistle to have an easy time of it, even with home advantage.
“Brechin are a good side, we can’t take anything away from them,” he stressed.
“They’ve done really well this year in the Highland League, so they’ll be up for it but hopefully we can get another win next week to keep the momentum going.
“It’s always the same, we had Buckie in the cup too. Brechin are at the top of the Highland League, so they’re obviously a good team.
“They’ve got some experienced players in that team, so it’s not going to be easy but it does give the manager the opportunity to play boys who haven’t played much.
“That will then give them the chance to put down a marker and show they can be called upon. We’re now winning games, and with the squad we have everyone is going to be needed.”
