Carl Tremarco delighted that former Inverness Caley Thistle teammate Aaron Doran is getting ‘deserved’ testimonial match in Highland capital against rivals Ross County
Carl Tremarco says he and his former Inverness Caledonian Thistle teammates watched Aaron Doran mature from a boy into a man in the Highland capital.
Doran will finally receive his testimonial match this weekend as Ross County visit the Caledonian Stadium, honouring the Irishman who made 376 appearances for the club across all competitions and scored 53 goals.
Tremarco made the move to Inverness two and-a-half years later, but as a senior player being five years older than Doran, who initially came up to the Highlands as a teenager.
The former Caley Jags captain says he is delighted that Doran is being recognised with a testimonial match when it looked for a long spell like the occasion may never happen, particularly when the Irishman left the Highland capital last summer in controversial circumstances amid the club’s financial difficulties.
With the fixture coming this weekend, Tremarco has taken the chance to reflect on Doran’s development on and off the pitch over the seven years they were teammates, and beyond.
“He deserved the match so much with what he’s been through over the last few years,” Tremarco said.
“He was a big figure in the dressing room, but probably not in the way people might think. Basically, he was someone we would take the mick out of, but not in that type of way. He absorbed that and loved that.
“He was quite quiet if I’m being honest, he wasn’t really outspoken and he probably did his talking on the pitch.
“He was always the brunt of a joke, and he tried to give as much back as he got, but when I first signed for Inverness he was a young kid, so watching him develop like he did was great to see.
“We watched a kid turn into a man. He was very immature when he first came up – we all liked to go out on a Saturday night, and he did some stupid things which meant he had to be spoken to quietly by a few of us like Ross Draper, myself, Richie Foran and Gary Warren.
“We all had words with him, because we knew the ability he had and he just needed to get his head on straight, and he did that. His performances on the pitch showed that, and unfortunately the time he started maturing was probably the same time he started picking up injuries.
“I have no doubt that if he didn’t have the injuries he had, he probably would have moved on from Inverness long before he did. Staying for so long is testament to his commitment.”
