Shock as Munro is freed by ICT
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Caley Thistle defender Grant Munro is set to leave the Inverness club.
IN a surprise move, Caley Thistle vice captain Grant Munro and three other senior players will see their ICT careers come to an end next weekend.
The Highlands’ SPL club have announced that 30-year-old Munro, along with Russell Duncan, Stuart Golabek and Roy McBain would not be offered new contracts.
Invernessian Munro has been a class act since coming through the youth system and leading the club all the way to the Scottish Premier League and back again after its relegation. He’s played 363 games over his 13 years at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.
Duncan, 30, who has been at ICT for 10 years, playing 351 times, was the first of the experienced players told he would not be getting a fresh contract and he’s keen also to win a deal to another SPL club if possible.
The departures of McBain and Golabek, with 11 and 10 years service respectively at Caley Thistle, come as less of a shock.
McBain, 36, who enjoyed a testimonial match this season, was loaned out to Second Division side Brechin City, while Golabek, also 36, was third in the pecking order for that left-back role behind Kenny Gillet and the currently injured Graeme Shinnie.
Former ICT manager Steve Paterson has expressed an interest in taking McBain and Golabek to Highland League club Formartine United as they bolster their squad for a genuine title assault next term.
Chairman George Fraser has paid tribute to Munro, who will now step up his hunt to land a move to another top-flight club.
He said: “Grant has been an exceptionally loyal servant to the club and demonstrates to all the young players in our youth set-up that with the correct application, skill and determination, you can progress to become captain of the club.
“Unfortunately, due to the current financial environment generally, but football in particular, contracts are all short term one-to-two year deals and it is highly unlikely we will see a player with the length of service of Grant at the club again.
“On behalf of everyone at the club, I wish Grant well for the future. It is always a sad day at any club when the old guard move on.”
Meanwhile, top scorer Adam Rooney will be offered a lucrative new deal by Caley Thistle as they aim to hang on the so Dubliner, who has bagged 19 SPL goals this season.
Earlier this year, a £100,000 bid from Russians Kuban Krasnodar was knocked back by the Highland club’s board and the player spoke to SPL rivals Hibs who were keen to land the forward.
It’s understood Hearts also have an interest in taking Rooney to the capital, so Butcher will speak to the player, whose contract expires this month, in a bid to keep him in Inverness.
Once the dust settles on the SPL clash with Celtic on Wednesday night, Butcher will move on to deal with the other players whose deals expire after the last game of the season at Hamilton a week on Saturday.
They are: Rooney, Gillet, Ross Tokely, Gil Blumenshtein, Stuart Duff, Dani Sanchez, Eric Odhiambo, Chris Hogg and Max Johnson.
Youngsters Gavin Morrison and Shane Sutherland are set to be offered new contracts, but Chris Innes last week announced that, for family reasons, he will be leaving to return home to the Edinburgh area.
