John Robertson (Robbo)

[JohnRobertson]

No Scotty

Its not Mo i have been working away with a contact on the posssibilty of setting up a feeder club in the usa that would allow all the best young players to be brought over to the club for trials and assessment in my mind the usa is a huge potential area and one i would encourage my next club to get involved in.

As regards team selection i dont think it is very fair to ask that as i am not the manager of the team

kind regards

robbo

[stevico1]

No Scotty

Its not Mo i have been working away with a contact on the posssibilty of setting up a feeder club in the usa that would allow all the best young players to be brought over to the club for trials and assessment in my mind the usa is a huge potential area and one i would encourage my next club to get involved in.

As regards team selection i dont think it is very fair to ask that as i am not the manager of the team

kind regards

robbo

Fair comment robbo fully understand that

[JohnRobertson]

Hi ajsict92

Can i just confirm that Donald and i did not neglect fitness in anyway shape or form when we first came in we fitness tested the players (jan03)at the end of that season we gave them more fitness tests(bleep test+interval running) and a programme for pre season break.

14 players came back with improved results with only 4 achieving top levels the following season(spl) all squad players improved with 9 achieving top levels.There was nothing wrong with their fitness and we installed a siege mentality because we had to play at that time all home games in aberdeen we employed the 4-5-1 formation with Juanjo in behind but told roy AND barry they had to attack 1st at all times.

The board the fans the players backed our vision and it resulted in sucess the board deserve tremendous credit as it was huge gamble and financial layout

kind regrds

robbo

[caley100]

Hi John,

Great to have you here!

Would you in your opinion put a lot of the defensive problems with ICT on the lack of a replacement for Dods?

Seems to me we have struggled defensively for a while and the current encumbant of the hot seat is playing players there who cnst do the job well.

[CaleyD]

Think it's unfair to be asking Robbo question about the current team and which players should or should not be at the club/playing or whatever.

He's kindly come on to post to clear up a few "myths" regarding what he did as a manager, both at ICT and afterwards at other clubs, so I think we should keep questions and discussion to that instead of trying to put him on the spot about the current issues/problems/difficulties at ICT.

[JohnRobertson]

Hi Caley100

I would not put it down to any one player but there is no doubt that we are certainly missing his type of prescense and its only when they have gone you realise how good they were, it was also frustrating to se him sit in the stands one row in front of me.I think the loss of Dods Dargo Wyness Bayne all experienced players has more relevance and you have to rebuild at some time with the demise of Gretne last year would have been the ideal time to do this.A manager s job is laced with difficult decisions of when or not to release players and when to blood youngsters and i can assure no one at the club is not trying to get the best players keep the best players.

kind regrdsrobbo

[RednBlackComeback]

All the best with finding a management position Robbo. Hope you get back into it very soon.

PS When you do get back into management, who would you choose as your assistant? ....For instance do you think Barry Wilson would make a good coach?

[JohnRobertson]

Thank you CaleyD

I WANT TO BE AS OPEN AND HONEST AS POSSIBLE

My plan was quite simple win promotion as i beleived and still do that the potential Inverness has as a club as a city as business element and future growth suppourt is huge.

Donald and i had a 5 year plan to achieve the following

1.Promotion 2.Win a cup 3.Reach top 6 4.play in europe 5.get a youth set up in place to nurture the cream of the highlnds from Perth to the islands

we recruited Danny MacDonald for this and he has done a brilliant job in this department and we are already seing the benefit of this with the youngsters breaking through this will continue and Danny and his staff should be applauded for this work which is vital to the long term success of the club.

It will stand the club in good stead

kind regrds

robbo

[Kirishima]

Hi Robbo.

As a striker (and a damned good one at that) do you agree with Alan Shearer that shooting across the goal is the way to go. How do you train strikers day to day. Is it mostly one on ones, crosses for headers or dead ball shots. ? What exactly is, as they say in the business, a natural born striker.

Great to have you here, fond fond memories.

[+Wanderer]

How do you feel about managers 'going back' to clubs they've previously managed? Would you like a crack at Hearts again?

[Caley Stan]

Hi Robbo,

How would you rate the team spirit and work ethic of the group you worked with at ICT?

And what do you think are most important factors in fostering a spirit like that?

[Guest birdog]

LEGEND

Welcome to the boards JR.

The most fun you can have on here is to get pyshed and post crap. Enjoy your time on the forum and I hope you become a regular poster here.

[JohnRobertson]

Hi RednBlack

Would depend on what job that became available etc but i would say that Barry Wilson has the credentials and the charachter to be a very promising coach moving into management one day.I was lucky to cut my teth at Livingston in the reserves and like a lot of people would love to have seen Barry given a similar opportunity at ICT.i think Barry will play out this season as a player.I have huge respect for him and was delighted to get Liverpool xi for him.

As said earlier this is not an easy decision for Craig and it is always sad to see this happen to such a loyal and respected player i am sure Barry will be back sooner rather than later and i certainly would have no problem working alongside him.

kind regards

john

[TSTtiger]

hi robbo,

do you think donald park would be keen to return to the club if the oportunity arose or does he want to be nearer the family down south.

do you think were going to be able to attract a couple of decent experienced players in jan?

cheers

[Sir C the 3rd]

Hi robbo

What is the hardest part about attracting players to Inverness and were you ever offered anyone by agents that we would think wow?

[Yngwie]

Did you find that ICT's geography was a real problem in attracting players, or was it all about the wages?

[JohnRobertson]

Hi Kirishma

Strikers can be very strange creatures trust me on that i beleive you have to work on all parts of their game you have to find the button that makes them work find what makes them play and then impliment it players perform with confidence especially strikers depending on position when shooting depends on where to aim but we worked extremely hard on encouraging all players to score

kind regards

robbo

Hi Wanderer

Tean spirit is paramount once you have lost respect of the players you have no chance of getting that back you must give them some sort of feedback and allow them the same they have to beleive in you.I am a great beleiver in making each player special and to let them know how much i rated them find out how to get them going individuals were talked to and it worked i also beleive that the appointment of Donald McNaughton as sports psychologist was huge and was disappointed to se him go last season.Team spirit is crucial without it self confidence and team confidence drops.

kind regards

robbo

[Guest birdog]

John,

How do you rate Andy Barrowman as a signing for ICT? Has he got the potential to give us something or do you think he is a great Division 2 player out of his depth in the SPL?

[JohnRobertson]

Hi caleyonup

I cant answer for Donald though i do speak reguraly with him and lets just say never say never most managers want their own people in to work alongside them and i think this may well have been the same in this case he still holds a dep affection for the club.

SIR C THE 3RD and ymgwie

yes i think i could have wowed you with a few more signings there were more players of the stature and level of Bingham and Juanjo to come and who knows what i have up my sleeve for the future it was sleightly difficult to persuade one or two as we were paying similar wages to the central belt but that where i had to sell the style of play sell the style of football get them to want to play and express themselves and more importantly want them to play for Inverness i knew when they came they were commited.

its not all about wages for players honestly some want to enhance careers some want opportunity to play but i knew i had connections and scouts in place to get the right players.David Bingham desperately wanted to stay but was offered 4 times more than we could pay

but we managed to sign Ian Black on 3 year deal at UNDER ?300 PW he just wanted to come and play for me a said he would get his chance as said i dont buy this we are not good enough routine

we are and can be more BELEIVE

kind regards

robbo

Hi fyibirddog

As said earlier strikers can be strange creatures i saw enough of Andy last year to see he can score goals and it is a big jump to premier level.It would appear his confidence is down at moment and desperatly needs a goal but will have to play his way out of it as its the only way he needs his confidence restored

kind regards

robbo

[caleyrule]

If this is the actual John Robertson (Robbo) which i think it is this is actually what we have been looking for although sadly not involved at ICT currently he seems very happy to ask sensible questions and i once approved him at an ICT an seemed a geniune character and was very happy to have a little chat before he started his Radio Scotland commentry

Robbo

If you were offered the ICT would you take it? (in the next few weeks with a bit of luck)

Michael

[JohnRobertson]

Hi caleyrule

Inverness have a manager therefor it is an un realistic and unfair question to ask me i would never put myself forward for a job that has a manager in place as i would not want the same to happen to myself.

kind regards

robbo

Hi everyone

I will have to call it quits for the moment but will try and come online tonight for an hour to answer anymore questions you want to get off your chests

i would like to finish this part by wishing the manager players and fans a great winning wekend

kind regards

robbo

[stevico1]

Hi caleyrule

Inverness have a manager therefor it is an un realistic and unfair question to ask me i would never put myself forward for a job that has a manager in place as i would not want the same to happen to myself.

kind regards

robbo

Hi everyone

I will have to call it quits for the moment but will try and come online tonight for an hour to answer anymore questions you want to get off your chests

i would like to finish this part by wishing the manager players and fans a great winning wekend

kind regards

robbo

Cheers Robbo and all the best

[tm4tj]

Hey Robbo, what a legend. You made a grown man cry when you lifted the Scottish Cup, what a memory, my hero. Anyway, we have both moved on and here we are talking about Inverness in the SPL.

Do you think the current squad will avoid relegation, if so, who do you believe is favourite for the drop?

drat, too late.

Edited December 12, 2008 by themann4thejob

[stevico1]

Hey Robbo, what a legend. You made a grown man cry when you lifted the Scottish Cup, what a memory, my hero. Anyway, we have both moved on and here we are talking about Inverness in the SPL.

Do you think the current squad will avoid relegation, if so, who do you believe is favourite for the drop?

drat, too late.

he seen you logging on m4tj and took of

[Kingsmills]

Hello John, firstly thanks for the great joy of that promotion year and, to my mind, being instrumental in influencing the club to accept their place in the SPL.

I was impressed with the progress ICT made under your management. Steve Paterson, despite his well documented personal problems, was a hard act to follow yet, in my opinion you managed to build on his achievements very well.

Here's a hypothetical question you may not wish to answer but if Hearts were to meet ICT in the cup final who would you want to win ?