‘Ultimately you need to start looking internally’ – Inverness Caley Thistle’s 2015 Scottish Cup hero James Vincent says time feels right for change at Highland club
Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s Scottish Cup-winning hero James Vincent has become the latest to call for a change in leadership at the top of the club.
Vincent scored the decisive goal against Falkirk in the 2015 final at Hampden Park in what was the highest moment of the club’s 30-year history so far.
Since then, things have not been so positive for the club. After getting relegated from the Premiership in 2017, Inverness would embark on some impressive cup runs as a second-tier side – including a second Scottish Cup final appearance as recently as last year – but could not earn promotion back to the top flight.
Last season, things then took a further step in the wrong direction as they suffered relegation to League One in the play-offs, meaning in 2024/25 ICT will be playing third-tier football for the first time in 25 years.
“Ultimately, you need to start looking internally,” Vincent reasoned.
“The natural way football goes is that the players get the brunt of it, because that’s what people see, but over a longer period of time you have to start looking inward. If you’re not getting things right, you have to question if change is needed. My thought would be that it probably is.
“I was gutted to see them get relegated. I love the club, and there are some really good people behind the scenes, so it’s a real shame that the club has gone from where it’s been to here.
“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster – I can only imagine what the fans are going through. Those guys must have been hit so hard to travel to the cup final last year and be in this position now.
“It’s hard to judge when you’re not in it everyday, but from the outside it looks like there’s something potentially not quite right there.
“Maybe these changes that the club is trying to make is an attempt to rectify those issues, but there’s something within the building that needs to be looked at.
“Hopefully sooner rather than later, they can get that right as the manager has got the team playing some good football. As a club they have always been competitive and been in and around cup finals, and that’s where they have to aspire to be again.
“For me, it would be great if they had local people investing. I’m sure that they’re exhausting every opportunity and personnel, but it would be really good if they could get fresh ideas in the club.
“Sometimes clubs need a bit of a change, and now might be the right time for new direction to hopefully get the club back to where I believe they should be.”
Although Vincent would leave the Highlands the year after their cup triumph, he would return to Caley Thistle for a two-year spell in 2019.
In his time away, the current regime had taken over at the Caledonian Stadium, and Vincent says there were noticeable differences between the two stints.
“The first time I was at the club, the main principles the squad and the club was built on were openness and trust between management and staff, and I think you could see that we bought into that because we got a little bit of success,” he recalled.
“When I went back there was a different structure and feel about the place – I think you always get that with any change of management and direction.
“It felt a little bit different for sure, and probably not as cohesive as what I saw the first time around.
“Of course that has an impact as a player. I know you never really get this in football, but all you can ask for is a bit of honesty.
“If it’s just a difference of opinions, you can shake hands and move on, and I think we got that my first time around. Whenever there were internal issues in the club, we all understood where we were, we accepted it and moved on. Then we tried to do things collectively for the betterment of the club and the team.
“That wasn’t always the case the second time around. I always felt a little bit uneasy, and that probably does translate on to the pitch because you’re never 100 per cent sure about commitment and where your future lies.”
Despite Vincent’s experiences, he does believe manager Duncan Ferguson has the football knowledge to get Inverness moving back in the right direction, adding: “The manager has so much experience within the game, hopefully he can get them back up the leagues as soon as possible.”
