Supporters Trust says Inverness Caley Thistle have heard demands of fans with changes at the top of club

THE Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust say the club have listened to the demands of fans with the changes that have been made of its leadership.

The Trust had called for a change at the top of the club since it was relegated from the Championship last month.

It has now been revealed that chief executive Scot Gardiner has resigned from the club and is working his notice.

His resignation comes after Ross Morrison confirmed he was standing down as chairman and resigned from the board of directors earlier this week.

The club have also confirmed it is scrapping plans to relocate its training base to Kelty and will keep their training operations at Fort George, 12 miles east of Inverness.

The club are now looking for new investment and owners, but have also approached an insolvency practitioner should efforts to find new investment fall short.

A survey organised by the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust revealed fans were prepared to not spend £250,000 if there were no changes made to the leadership at the club.

It included fans speaking of a boycott of purchasing season tickets unless changes were made, although this move was not endorsed by the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters’ Trust.

A statement released by the Trust said they welcomed the resignation of Gardiner and said their demands for a change in leadership have appeared to be met.

The statement said: “ICT Supporters Trust welcomes the announcement that ICTFC CEO Scot Gardiner has tendered his resignation from the club, following the earlier resignation of chairman Ross Morrison.

“The Supporters Trust have been calling for a change in leadership at the very top of the club since the relegation to League One on May 18.

“It was clear from the Supporters Trust fans meeting last week that the threat of a season ticket boycott was very real.

“Our demands were that the CEO was removed and the Kelty deal, which was ill thought and entered into without fan consultation, was scrapped. It appears these demands have been heard.

“Our survey to gauge the volume of cash that supporters would not spend at the club this season highlighted more than £250,000 of potential lost revenue to the club if the ICT board of directors did not act.”

The Supporters Trust are actively trying to raise money to purchase enough shares to get a representative a seat on the board of directors.

They are continuing their call for supporters to have a greater say in how the club is run in the future.

The Trust statement continued: “Nothing would have been changed if it were not for the overwhelming will of our supporters.

“The last few weeks has highlighted that football without fans is nothing, and that the big decisions at football clubs must have supporters’ interests at heart.

“By pulling together, under one voice, fans can make a difference.

“While the threat of ongoing financial issues remain, we welcome news of potential investment, and appreciate that any future financiers need to fully understand the club’s fiscal position before they make any investment.”

“We can hopefully now start the process of restoring a reputation that was painstakingly built over 30 years.

“It’s time for the club to re-engage with its supporters and local businesses and hope that they will get back behind Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

“The Supporters Trust are ready to work with the current board and any new investors to ensure lessons are learned from past mistakes and that supporters can feel their voice at the club is being heard.

“Our Stronger Together campaign to raise income to support the club will be key, now more than ever.”

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