Inverness Caley Thistle chairman Ross Morrison appears on fan podcast The Wyness Shuffle to address concerns over move to Kelty, talk of a season ticket boycott and the futures of both himself and chief executive Scot Gardiner
Ross Morrison has appeared on the latest episode of Inverness Caledonian Thistle fan podcast The Wyness Shuffle to address supporters’ concerns directly.
It is the first time that Morrison has publicly spoken directly to supporters of the club since Caley Thistle were relegated to League One.
He has since released statements - first confirming that the club would continue as a full time entity next season, and then announcing that first team training would be moving to Kelty in Fife.
That led to outrage amongst fans, with many talking about a boycott of season tickets and even preferring the idea of putting the club into administration over moving their training base 135 miles away.
The Wyness Shuffle tried to cover as much ground as possible in the limited time they had with Caley Thistle’s chairman, and here is some of what he had to say.
The move to Kelty
"I don't really want to go down to Kelty, but it's the finances and the big bucks we've got to spend to get players to come up here.
"I want to keep us full time, and I want to get us up. I think the Kelty thing is the way to do that.
"We signed an agreement with Kelty. It's a done deal, but you can get out of done deals. The problem is where do we get the money to supplement the savings that we make by going down there?
"The opportunity is still there (for someone to come up with an idea). We haven't started playing at Kelty, but we probably need the thick end of £400,000, and I don't see where we get that from.
"I'm aware of the fan reaction, but in my head Kelty makes sense even if it might not be popular."
Club finances
"The creditors are about £300,000, and that's one of the reasons we have to get our costs down because we have to start paying them off. We have debtors of about £300,000, which we should have been paid at the end of April but we haven't been paid yet. That money was going to start nibbling away at the outstanding creditors.
"The club has lost money, but it's the directors who are out of pocket. The club never really had any money anyway, it has just been put in by directors on loans, so if someone wanted to come in and invest it wouldn't be that difficult."
Morrison also said that he had put £1.5 million into the club, and that earlier this week he invested £40,000 – which he intends on being the last money he puts into Caley Thistle.
He said that money earned from the run to the Scottish Cup final last year went on clearing debt, and confirmed that first team manager Duncan Ferguson has taken a reduction in wage ahead of next season.
On the cost of putting players up should the move to Kelty be reversed, he admitted the club would be looking for a “white knight”. Should the move go ahead, he also said there would be “very little use” of the Caledonian Stadium which would help save money.
On the much discussed prospect of a season ticket boycott, he added: "I think (a season ticket boycott) would be shooting ourselves in the foot. People can vote with their feet, and if that's what they want to do they are entitled to do it.
"I don't think it would be the cleverest move because we need the money to pay wages for the next few months, but if that's what they want to do, they can do it."
Administration
The prevailing feeling coming out of the Supporters’ Trust open meeting on Tuesday night was that fans would prefer to see the club put into administration than move first team training to Kelty. Morrison did not agree.
"If the board want to put the club into administration, I won't be on the board. It would be a defeat for us – we would lose jobs, and creditors would lose money. I don't think it would be a clever idea.
"I would disagree that it's more important to stay in Inverness than go into administration.
"When other regimes were in charge, it was the same – it has never been a successful business."
Future of the board, Scot Gardiner and players
"If the fans want to change me, I would be quite happy to go tomorrow if someone could come in and do the job.
"I would rather be a fan than a director. The club is the most important thing, and the fans are second.
"The club is the most important thing. If the board want me to go for the good of the club, anything can be done, but we need the funds to do it."
When specifically asked about the role of chief executive officer Scot Gardiner, Morrison said: “The responsibility is with the board of directors, and ultimately me. It's my responsibility to employ Scot Gardiner.
“I think he's doing a good job to a certain point – he's sometimes a bit abrasive, but his knowledge is fantastic.”
When pushed that many supporters cited Gardiner as a reason they would not be buying season tickets, and also when told that Gardiner’s future was a priority for fans over relegation and the move to Kelty, Morrison added: “I’m getting the message.”
As far as the future goes, many fans are also keen to hear news on the playing squad with most of last season’s side due to leave the Caledonian Stadium this summer.
On that front, Morrison said: "I haven't seen the manager since Hamilton. I've spoken to him to see if he can speak to people about investing, and we're speaking to players on the basis of the Kelty plan, but we haven't signed anyone as far as I know.
"I think young lads have been offered terms to come back again. Other players are down to Gary (Bollan) and Duncan. I can't comment on that, because I don't know and I don't want to guess."
