Officials to hold board meeting on how Inverness Caley Thistle moves forward after relegation

Inverness Caledonian Thistle board members are set to meet tomorrow to discuss how the club will progress forward following their relegation from the Scottish Championship.

Inverness will play in League One next season following losing the Championship play-off final to Hamilton Academical 5-3 on aggregate, losing the second leg 3-2 at the Caledonian Stadium last night.

The result means Inverness Caledonian Thistle will be playing in the third tier of Scottish football next season for the first time in 25 years.

The relegation comes as the club is set to restructure its finances, with a new budget that is scheduled to come in on June 1. Chairman Ross Morrison previously confirmed that the club would be restructuring its finances next month when he spoke at the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust meeting in April.

It is not known how the new budget will affect staff numbers. But Morrison said previously they are looking at all aspects of the club as part of the restructuring process.

Previously, Morrison said Inverness Caledonian Thistle was unable to afford its youth academy in its current form and that they would be looking for sponsorship to keep it going.

It was also confirmed Inverness were paying over £1 million in players’ wages and that they would be looking to reduce that figure next season.

After yesterday’s match against Hamilton, manager Duncan Ferguson confirmed no player out of contract had been offered a new deal yet as they were waiting to find out what division they were playing in next season.

It is not known how the restructuring will impact projects that the club are involved with, which include its planned women’s and community football facility at Inverness Royal Academy, spearheaded by the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Community Development Trust.

It also includes youth projects which are run by the club in the area.

Morrison also said previously Caley Thistle are looking at ways of bringing in new investment and ensuring that it is able to continue as a full-time club.

It is hopeful that its appeal with the Scottish Government to build a battery energy storage facility at Fairways will be approved after being rejected by the Highland Council back in March. The development, if approved in March, was said to be worth £3.4 million to the club.

But the appeal process could take up to six months.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle also acquired the land around the stadium last year and is working on two deals which are believed to be worth around £450,000.

Morrison has not ruled out the possibility the club may be forced to go part-time.

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