‘This club, for far too long, has been losing too much money’ says Inverness Caledonian Thistle acting chief executive officer Charlie Christie
ACTING chief executive officer Charlie Christie says Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been losing colossal amounts of money for far too long.
He says the club must act immediately on how to stop that as they look on how to solve the financial problems the club are facing.
Christie has been appointed as acting chief executive officer and is working alongside Alan Savage who has been put in charge by the board of directors to put Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a firm financial footing.
It comes as negotiations with Seventy7 Ventures, who were believed to be close to securing a deal to become the club’s majority shareholder, have been suspended.
Christie said in a press conference at Caley Thistle today they need to figure out how to stop the club haemorrhaging money.
He said: "This club, for far too long, has been losing too much money - colossal amounts of money.
“We have to stop that somehow. How easy that will be, we don't know, but it needs to be addressed.
"We've all read about the money-making ideas which have not come to fruition over the past two or three years. We've maybe taken our eyes off the ball on the football front, which was exacerbated by the relegation last season.
"Alan has come in to try and steady the ship then open up potential new bids for the club if possible. How long that will take, I have no idea.
"The ship badly needed steadied. We've been staring down the barrel of administration. Hopefully, but there's no guarantee, that threat has been put on the backburner.
"The best thing we can do is to start winning games and start challenging near the top of the league, which benefits everyone at the football club.”
Christie admitted it has been a tough time for Inverness Caledonian Thistle both on and off the pitch with the financial situation being frustrating.
However, he is confident that working alongside Savage, it will lead to the club having a brighter future.
“The staff get frustrated too and a lot of that has been from resources.
Me, as academy manager, has had to do without things that were needed.
In any walk of life there’s frustration in that. A lot of it leads back to finances.
“The mood at the club has been great since Alan came in. Some of the staff don’t know him. He is fair, but demanding - and very professional..
“He will want a paper trail for everything, as there should be.
“He will want more corporate governance in his time at the club and I don’t think that;s much to ask.
“It is good for any business to have that. That’s what he’ll bring.
“We’re all delighted because we feel it is a step in the right direction.
“Watching the ill-feeling towards individuals at the end of last season, it is not good for Caley Thistle.
“It is something I’ve never seen. Fans have a go at managers, myself included, after poor performances. That goes with the territory.
“But not what we witnessed last year at times. Hopefully that’s dead in the water now and we can move on.”
Christie says the club will be looking to support manager Duncan Ferguson as much as possible. While finances may not allow for any transfers at present, he thinks there is a squad that is capable of promotion.
He said: “I’ll be liaising with Duncan and helping him as much as I can.
“The basic requirements at a football club are meeting once a fortnight and having a discussion, along with Alan and Graeme Bennett will be heavily involved as well - and I’d like to go back to that.
“We’re basically saying to Duncan 'how can we help?’
“I’m guessing he will want a bigger budget with more players. That’s going to be very difficult to achieve in the short term.
“I personally think we’re not far off a League One challenge for promotion. We should be with the squad we’ve got, although we’re probably short in one or two areas.
“But the priority at the moment is dealing with current creditors.”
