Kelty Hearts still waiting for Inverness Caley Thistle to tell them training ground deal is off
KELTY Hearts claim they are still waiting for Inverness Caledonian Thistle to tell them their training ground deal is off, two days after Inverness publicly announced they were scrapping the deal.
Kelty Hearts general manager Stefan Winiarski says they have had no direct contact from Inverness that they want to cancel an agreement to use their facilities at New Central Park as a training base next season.
He also said Kelty Hearts have been hit financially due to renovation works of their facilities they started to prepare for Inverness arriving.
Caley Thistle originally wanted to use Kelty in a bid to increase its chances of signing players, saying getting potential players to relocate to the Highlands from the central belt had proven problematic in the past.
The club also said the cost of accommodation to provide players in Inverness was proving too expensive and believed it would represent a significant saving.
However, the proposal was met with disapproval from a large number of Inverness fans, before the club confirmed it would keep its training base in the Highlands.
Winiarski says while they accept the deal will now not go ahead, says nobody from Inverness has been in contact with Kelty Hearts to tell them the deal is off.
He says until that changes, they say a signed agreement remains in place between the two clubs and it is up to Inverness to tell them directly that they wish to cancel it.
Winiarski said: “We have not had any communication from Inverness since their announcement on Wednesday.
“We have tried to phone them, but we have had zero contact from anyone at the club.
“I shouldn’t be having to chase for an update because Inverness approached us originally to get the ball rolling.
“It is down to Inverness to get in touch with us and tell us there is a change in circumstances.
“We have not had any communication and we would expect someone on the board to tell us to terminate the agreement.”
The original deal at New Central Park involved using Kelty’s offices and space around the park for the players, as well as physio rooms along with changing and shower facilities.
The pitch itself is owned by Fife Council who are responsible for it being booked to use.
As part of the deal, Winiarski says Kelty Hearts was asked to carry out some renovation works to its facilities.
He was not prepared to say how much the training ground deal was worth to Kelty Hearts. But he says the club had been left financially out of pocket as a result of the renovation works.
He said: “We were asked to carry out some renovation works, which have begun at a cost to ourselves as part of the signed agreement.
“This is why I need official confirmation from Inverness the deal is off, because we would be looking to recuperate some of the money that we have shelled out.
“Financially we have been left out of pocket for the renovation works.
“Until officially told through an email, phone call, our stance is we still have an agreement with Caley Thistle and nobody has come to us in an official capacity to tell us otherwise.
“We know that the deal is not going to happen, but officially we have not been told that by Inverness.”