Inverness Caledonian Thistle fans call for change at top following club’s relegation.
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INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust are calling for a change at the top of the club after it was relegated to League One following defeat in the Championship play-off final.
The Trust have released a statement, hours after Caley Thistle lost 5-3 on aggregate to Hamilton Academical which saw them relegated from the Championship, calling for a change in leadership.
Angry scenes took place at full time, with fans blaming and protesting against current board members about the situation Inverness have found themselves in.
The Trust says as a result of the club’s relegation from the Championship and into League One, it is calling for change to be made at the top.
It has blamed “a series of questionable decisions” in how the club is run as the reason for the club’s failure this season.
A statement from the Trust said: “The Supporters Trust, like all Inverness Caledonian Thistle supporters, is saddened by the relegation of the football club to League One and by the sorry state that the club finds itself in.
“A series of questionable decisions in numerous aspects of the stewardship of the club has led us to this situation.
“Inverness Caledonian Thistle is at a crossroads. The decisions made now will have an impact for decades to come, which is why they need to be the right ones.
“The club has experienced severe financial difficulties since being relegated to the championship. A prolonged period in League One will exacerbate this.
“We are therefore calling on significant change to be made at the top of the club. Individuals with fresh ideas have joined the Board of Directors in recent times, and new additions have been made behind the scenes, but more change is needed.
“The burden of the current failure lies squarely at the feet of the leadership, and we now demand change that allows fresh stewardship of the football club.
“The relationship between those running the football club and its supporters is at an all-time low. As a Supporters Trust we have the objective of the greatest possible supporter and community influence in the running and ownership of Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC and that fans are communicated to with honesty and transparency.”
Last month the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust launched the Stronger Together Fund which aims to increase their shareholding of the football club.
It believes it will help assist in creating a sustainable football club with supporters at its heart.
It continued: “We urge supporters to join the Supporters Trust and help build the Stronger Together Fund, which aims to increase our shareholding of the football club and assist in creating a sustainable football club with supporters at its heart.
To that end, as part of the club’s planned restructure, we are calling for a democratically elected fans’ representative to sit on Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC’s Board of Directors.
“The club’s planned restructure must prioritise spend on the first team and the club’s youth infrastructure over everything else to ensure that we have a full-time first team squad for the League One campaign and that the future of the Football Academy is protected.
In the coming seasons the club will need to supplement and staff the first team squad with a greater number of academy players, something that the current First Team manager has continually refused to do.
“Only by making these changes can Inverness Caledonian Thistle move forward, reconnect with the fanbase and provide our supporters with a football club of which they can be proud.”
