Duncan Ferguson will stay at Inverness for as long as he is wanted

DUNCAN Ferguson says he wants to remain as manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. As long as the club feels he is the right man to get them out of League One and back to the Championship.

He spoke after he watched his side lose 5-3 on aggregate to Hamilton Academical in the Championship play-off final. Inverness will now play in the third tier for the first time in 25 years next season. Inverness lost 3-2 in the second leg at the Caledonian Stadium on Saturday night, going down 2-0 after 11 minutes and 3-1 at half time which proved too much of a mountain to climb.

Ferguson, who signed a three-year contract at the end of September, replacing former manager Billy Dodds, says he wants to remain at Inverness for as long as he is wanted.

He said: “That is down to the chairman. I don’t want to harp on about it but the damage was done. I got us 41 points since I have been here and that puts me fifth.

I don’t sign a contract lightly, I came in here when we were bottom with one point and in the relegation spot automatically. I managed to get ourselves 19 points above the automatic relegation spot and three points away from fifth.

“It’s football, we don’t get the result we want and this can happen.”

Ferguson says players who are out of contract at Inverness have still not been offered new deals.

He says he does not know how many players will remain at the club to play at League One level next season.

He said: “It needs a reset, we are behind the curve in recruitment. No players have been offered contracts. The whole thing is up in the air because they are worried about what league they are going to play in. I have only around four or five players on contract. It is not easy to motivate a team when everybody is out of contract.”

Inverness Caledonian Thistle finished with the second best defence in the Championship despite finishing in ninth place during the regular season.

He says it was unlike his team to be so poor defensively in the Championship play-off final and concede five goals in the space of two games.

“We have been fantastic defensively all season and when we needed defence, we crumbled. We have given away five terrible goals in the two games.

It is gutwrenching for the fans. We look back and we think we were a good team. We were three points away from fifth, but when you are in the play-offs it is anyone’s. Hamilton scored five goals in two games against us and it is unlike us.”

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