Carl Tremarco admitted tears were shed after former Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County defender decided to retire
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Carl Tremarco admits he shed a tear after seeing the reaction to his retirement.
The 35-year-old confirmed that he would be hanging up his boots last weekend, bringing an 18-year professional career to an end.
Tremarco spent seven seasons with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, being part of the Scottish Cup winning squad that finished third in the Scottish Premiership.
That earned the Caley Jags the right to play European football the following season in the Europa League.
He stuck with the club as they slipped into the Championship, taking over the captain’s armband, and lifted another trophy in the form of the Challenge Cup in 2018 – even scoring the decisive goal in the final against Dumbarton.
The full back was a popular figure with Inverness supporters, and he says seeing the messages of support from fans and colleagues after making his decision public proved particularly touching.
“I’ll admit to shedding a couple of tears, but that was only from reading everyone’s messages,” he said.
“I was fine making the decision. I took a couple of weeks to come to terms with it, but once I had made the decision, I was fine with it.
“Reading those nice messages set me off though, and I got a little bit emotional as the realisation of the longevity I’ve had hit me.
“It was a little bit sad last Saturday, but I’m fine with it, all is good.”
For all that makes Tremarco an Inverness Caley Thistle legend, he spent his last season as a player across the Kessock Bridge at their rivals Ross County.
Part of that move was out of his hands, as the veteran left back had wanted to remain in the Highland capital when he was released last summer.
For a while he was anticipating dropping into part-time football to continue playing.
Then the Staggies came in for him and signed him up for what would turn out to be the final season of his playing career.
While in Dingwall though, Tremarco had taken on extra responsibilities behind the scenes as he became the club’s head of youth.
It is a role that Tremarco enjoys greatly, and his desire to continue coaching turned out to be one of the deciding factors that convinced him to call it a day.
“It was a difficult decision, because I knew for a fact I had more in me,” Tremarco explained.
“That’s why it took so long. Obviously County released me, which was fine. I knew I had another year of playing, but what level was I going to be playing at?
“I would have had to go part-time, but I would rather focus on the coaching side of things to be honest.
“That was what helped me make the decision, I could play part-time, or I could jump into coaching – I’ve been doing that for the past couple of years anyway.
“I’m still head of youth at County, I’m enjoying it, and I can see myself doing that for the foreseeable future.”
