John Robertson: ‘Promotion would be a game-changer’ for Caley Thistle
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JOHN Robertson admits that reaching the Premiership would be a financial game-changer for Caley Thistle.
The club’s sporting director shared the pain of last season’s promotion near-miss, as much on an emotional level as with a cold eye on the balance sheets.
But Robertson, having “moved upstairs” just over a year ago, is keenly aware of what reaching the top-flight would mean.
As well as bringing transformative levels of income, promotion would enable the club to attract a new level of player.
Caley Jags went within 45 minutes of achieving their great ambition last season, with only a second half collapse away to St Johnstone – in their sixth play-off match – denying them.
The Inverness outfit, though, has still spent more years in the Premiership than any other Scottish division.
“This August, in the Championship, we’ll get a cheque for £60,000,” Robertson said. “The reality is, in the Premiership we’d have been looking at a cheque for £600,000.
“We got about £375,000 for finishing third last season. Dundee will get £1.6 million for being relegated. Had we been promoted, we would have had £1.6 million to play with straight away.
“Last time in the Premier League we had just under 50,000 away fans through the gates, worth another £600,000-700,000. Then there’s the extra TV and advertising money, the sold-out hospitality.
“All in all, it is worth another £2.5 to 3 million compared to where we are now.
“That suddenly transforms the kind of players you can attract and that’s no disrespect to those we have, because we target players we believe can play Championship level and potentially step up if required.
“With Championship status, our location works against us and we encounter a reluctance to move families and partners to Inverness. These extra wee bits of quality could have been crucial last season, but as we saw under Terry Butcher as a prime example, Premiership status changes everybody’s attitude – agents and players.
“What we have to do is continue to work tirelessly to attract the right kind of players and make sure we get back to the Premiership.”
Robertson is one who fell in love with the Highlands and made it home.
“While we’re playing Premier League football, Inverness is a very attractive place for players. That’s one of the big reasons we want to get back.”
