Charlie Christie - Young stars will take chance to shine at Caley Thistle
Whilst it was somewhat forced on the club through current circumstances it was still very
pleasing to see seven academy graduates start our recent League Cup match at home to
Arbroath.
It was even more pleasing to see most of them excel in a match we could have won in what
is currently a steep learning curve for the young players at Inverness Caley Thistle.
One fact that our support may not realise is that these seven lads have a combined total of
over 50 years playing at ICT through our academy with most of them having joined the
club at around nine years of age.
Each one of the seven along with second half substitute Ben Corner have caught the eye at
one time or other as they progressed through the academy, and it is huge credit to our
academy coaches who have worked with these players over many years to get them to the
level they are now at.
Each one of them still has an awful lot to learn and, just as importantly, they will need help
from the experienced players alongside them as they look to develop their game further.
It has been a fact that every young player who has progressed their career from starting out
at ICT has benefitted from those more experienced players around them who have guided
them through their start in the professional game – that guidance and help cannot be
underestimated.
Tomorrow, we start our League One campaign at home to Dumbarton – our first league
match at this level since 1999 when it was known simply as the Scottish Second Division.
Although finishing fourth in League Two last season Dumbarton unexpectedly gained
promotion through the play-offs after seeing off Stirling Albion and then Spartans but they
have endured a difficult League Cup campaign this season gaining just a solitary group point
with a home draw against East Kilbride.
Like us they suffered a heavy defeat to Premier League opposition last weekend as they
succumbed 6-0 to Aberdeen and whilst we will have to rely on youth to a certain extent there
is no reason why we can’t get our season off to a good start against part-time opposition.
Manager Duncan Ferguson will be hoping that the recent news of investment into the club
will allow him to add to his squad sooner rather than later as we are noticeably thin on the
ground in certain departments, but I genuinely hope it is not to the detriment of those young
players who can certainly play their part this season and who will only get better with
experience.
