Duncan Ferguson confirms his squad is in place for Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s League One campaign
MANAGER Duncan Ferguson says he already has his squad in place at Inverness Caledonian Thistle which he will try and gain promotion from League One to the Championship this season.
Ferguson spoke for the first time since Inverness were relegated from the Championship as they played their first pre-season match with a 2-0 win over Clachnacuddin at Grant Street Park on Saturday afternoon.
Inverness fielded a young team with only a handful of recognised senior first team players from last season.
Senior players from last season in the starting line-up included Adam Brooks, Jake Davidson, Danny Devine, Luis Longstaff, Billy Mckay and Remi Savage.
Charlie Gilmour, Lewis Nicolson and Nikola Ujdur were not in the squad on Saturday afternoon.
Youngsters in the starting line-up included Keith Bray, Matthew Strachan, Robbie Thompson and Jack Walker. Goalkeeper Jack Newman, who is on loan from Dundee United, also started.
The substitutes bench was full of young players, who along with goalkeeper Syzmon Rebilias and new signing Cameron Ferguson also included Ethan Cairns, Ben Connor, Shae Keogh, Cameron Mackay, Calum Macleod and Sam Nixon.
Ferguson says that is likely to be his squad for the new campaign, barring one or two possible changes, but also said some players could be leaving as well.
He said: “That is what my line-up is going to be as we speak.
“You know the position of the club, that is where we are, that is my squad. Maybe there will be one or two movements, there will be a couple of players leaving. We will just have to balance it out.”
Inverness Caledonian Thistle are in the process of trying to attract new investment since being relegated, but have also said they are seeking advice from an insolvency practitioner if they are not successful.
Ferguson remains confident young players that have come through the academy can step up and are ready for the challenge.
He was impressed with their performance at Clachnacuddin and is looking for them to progress with friendlies against Nairn County and Raith Rovers next week.
Ferguson said: “It is a very young team, they need a bit of time, bit of help and support and I’m sure the fans will be patient with them.
“It has been challenging, it gives an opportunity, we have a lot of good young players at the club who are well thought of. They have come through the ranks. It has been really challenging but of course we have a lot of good young ones who are ready to step up and challenge.
“I worked at the Everton academy and I coached a lot of young players, we have a good batch of players here. They did well today and it was positive, a lot of local boys in the team which the fans were wanting, they wanted a bunch of local lads.
“We put them out on loan in January with a view to get them in pre-season and get a look at them. We are going to get a right good look at them now.
“First and foremost, if they are good enough, they will be here. It doesn’t matter if you are local. We have this pool, but you have to be good enough. We have always took in local players, that doesn’t change in our recruitment or scouting, nothing has changed.
“There are opportunities for players, we put them out on loan last year as we didn’t think they would be ready for the Championship.
“They have been in the Highland League, League Two and League One. That has given them grounding, we were always going to use them in pre-season, we were always going to use them to see what we had. I am sure the fans will get behind them, they understand our position. I am sure one or two will come through, because they know they are well thought of.”
Ferguson added: “We are trying to be positive, it is a young squad and there are big challenges ahead for us. We have to be positive and support this young squad. It doesn’t help anyone getting on the back of young players. I am sure the fans will understand that and be as loyal as they have ever been.”
