Charlie Christie: Inverness Caley Thistle starting to see a difference on and off the pitch with everyone pulling in same direction
The last two home matches at the Caledonian Stadium have brought two very contrasting results, but the positive vibe which has returned to the club in recent times has been the most noticeable and pleasing aspect for me.
Yes, after an unexpectedly poor performance against Cove Rangers, there was some frustration displayed on the final whistle, but that should not detract from the steps forward that we are trying to take both off and on the park during this difficult period in administration.
The hospitality suite was full at both games with matchday hospitality going superbly well at that Cove encounter followed by a great turn out from our youth academy parents as we invited them to our first match of 2025 against Dumbarton.
Allied to the revamp and greatly renewed interest in the stadium sports bar, it has lent to a far better atmosphere at the ground on a match day and is reminiscent of when Caley Thistle were at their best with everyone involved with the club pushing in the same direction.
There is still lots of work to do both off and on the park starting with an important away match at Annan Athletic tomorrow and, with the financial future of ICT and coming out of administration still a priority, the help and co-operation from others will be paramount as we look to build on the current feel-good factor.
During the festive period I was astonished to note that on Sunday, December 29 both Celtic and Rangers started their SPL games without a single Scottish player in either team.
How important that is to both sets of supporters who quite simply want their team to win every game I don’t know, but it is certainly not great for the Scottish game in general.
Celtic were at home to St Johnstone that day and their convincing 4-0 win surprised nobody. Three Scottish players did come on during the game, with both Callum McGregor and Anthony Ralston having come through the club’s youth academy whilst talented midfielder Luke McCowan was a recent signing from Dundee.
Rangers, meanwhile, travelled to Motherwell and earned a point in a hard-fought encounter without a single Scottish player entering the field of play for the Ibrox side.
It surprises me that, considering the effort, expertise and staffing in both clubs’ academies, that we aren’t seeing even one or two young homegrown players in their matchday squads on a more regular basis.
Yes, players need to be good enough and ready for the step up and there are talented young players from both clubs currently out on loan who may break through whilst it should also be recognised that both clubs have lost talent to England in recent times, but I am still surprised at the lack of academy graduates featuring for our big two.
I realise that the halcyon days of the ‘Lisbon Lions’ will never be replicated, and that football is now a global marketplace, but I still maintain that ‘growing your own’ should be a priority in our game which can benefit both the club and Scottish football.
