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Donald Park leaves ICT

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A statement issued by the club this afternoon (Mon 26th November) has confirmed rumours that had earlier been circulating on the message boards of this site. Assistant Head Coach Donald Park (pictured left with John Docherty - photo © Trevor Martin) has resigned from the club with immediate effect.
According to the official website, Donald informed manager Craig Brewster of his decision this morning and cited personal and family reasons for his decision.
Both Director of Football Graeme Bennett and Manager Craig Brewster have wished Park well and applauded his contribution to the club in both of his spells here.
We at CaleyThistleOnline would like to add our voice to the praise of Park but cant help wondering if there is more to this than meets the eye ........
The statement from the club reads as follows and can also be found at the following link on the official website:
Donald Park Leaves The Club
FULL TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE
Donald Park has stepped down as Assistant Head Coach at Caley Thistle with immediate effect.
Donald, who had spent two years at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in his second spell at the club, notified manager Craig Brewster of his intention this morning.
"I have been away from my family, who are in the Edinburgh area, for two years and I have increasingly felt I want to spend more time with them", he said.
"It is time to go home and I will thus be looking for a football job in the Central Belt."
"It is a big wrench to leave Caley Thistle. I love this club and I'd like to thank everyone at it, without exception, right through to the tea ladies. I wish this club every success in the future."
Caley Thistle director of football Graeme Bennett said:"We understand Donald's reasons for leaving and he goes with our best wishes. Two years is a long time to be away from your family. He spoke to me about leaving when Charlie Christie stepped down but I asked him to stay on and he agreed.
"He has helped incoming manager Craig Brewster through a difficult incoming period and now he is leaving at a good time for the club and himself. That is to his great credit."
Manager Craig Brewster said:"Donald has been a tremendous servant to this club and I appreciate his family reasons for going at this particular time. I will now be taking time to review the situation in relating to bringing in a successor."
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By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Inverness CT 1-0 St Mirren - SPL

Man of the Match Don Cowie was the match winner today. His 6th minute strike for the Caley Jags was enough to secure the points and pull the team up one place in the table.
For the second game in succession, there was a red card produced, but this time it was the Buddies Will Haining who got two yellows and not one of the ICT players.
24/11/07 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CT 1 Cowie (6) Yeam: Fraser, Proctor, McGuire, Munro, Hastings, Wilson (Rankin 63), Cowie, Duncan, McBain, Niculae, Wyness (McAllister 90)
Subs: Brewster, Vigurs, Duff, McCaffrey, Malkowski
ST MIRREN 0 Team: Smith, Van Zanten, Millen, Haining, Miranda, Brady (Birchall 55), Mason (O'Donnell 81), Murray, Corcoran, Mehmet, Kean
Subs: McGinn, McCay, Barron, Potter, Howard
Referee Crawford Allan Attendance 3699 Since both teams have come head to head in the SPL, there has never been more than one goal separating the sides, and this match was never going to be any different. St Mirren came to Inverness with the prospect of going 8 points clear of ICT with a game in hand, so for ICT this was a must win fixture. The prospect of climbing further away from Gretna was also at the back of the mind.
The only real surprise in the line ups was the loss of Ian Black, whom after his ‘huff’ against Motherwell a fortnight previous couldn’t get a place on the bench. Bayne and Rossco were both suspended for this fixture, again due to actions during the visit of Motherwell. The back 4 lined up Proctor, McGuire, Munro and Hastings with Fraser keeping his place in the ICT goal. Wilson, Duncan, Cowie and McBain filled the midfield with options in front through Wyness and Niculae.
Former ICT star, Craig Dargo, was not included for this fixture with prolonged injury keeping him out of the side. Smith, Van Zanten, Mason, Haining, Murray, Mehmet, Brady, Corcoran, Miranda, Millen and Kean completing the starting opponents.
It was ICT who took kick off with Allan Crawford officiating, and it was St Mirren who had the first opportunity 4 minutes in. From the first corner of the game, taken from the right, ICT managed to scramble the ball clear with no real threat from the St Mirren front line. Early on Stewart Kean and Franco Miranda combined well to maintain some slight pressure to the back 4, but Procter was always on hand to clear the danger.
Caley’s first attack resulted in a superbly taken goal from Don Cowie to put them 1-0 ahead on just 7 minutes. Some fine one-touch passing in the centre of the park resulted in Roy McBain picking up the ball to deliver a lovely weighted cross from the corner of the box for Cowie to volley on the outside of his right foot into the bottom corner. Smith appeared to get a slight touch to it, but without a strong wrist to push it wide.
The first half didn’t see many more great chances for either side, although Marius Niculae was showing some great ball control and link play with Wilson and Wyness. Dennis was clearly liking the ball played to feet more than the long punt up the park, and he managed to hold off the defence on a few occasions to hold up the play.
Don Cowie was unable to make it 2-0 on 25 minutes. David Proctor, providing strong sliding tackles and very little in terms of mistakes, found himself assisting in some fine passing movements to deliver this opportunity. High and wide with this effort, but St Mirren remained on the backfoot for the next few minutes building up to half time. Niculae had a chance to run at the St Mirren defence soon after the goal kick, with a rare error from the Saints midfield allowing Russel Duncan to slot through for Marius. He checked past one defender with another to beat, and his snap shot appeared to take a deflection just wide of the post. To the surprise and disgust of the Caley Thistle support, a goal kick was awarded, allowing St Mirren to show they were not down and out in this fixture.
Richard Hastings seemed to leave his man all to often in the first half, leaving Mark Corcoran with enough space to create an opportunity. David Proctor on hand to clear for a corner. Strong defending from Marius Niculae saw him clash heads with Miranda on the 6 yard box and the game was paused momentarily.
Half Time: 1-0
Not by any means the most entertaining game of football so far, and far from the performance a few years back that saw would be 1st Div Champions St Mirren get gubbed 5-0!!! St Mirren came out fighting in the second half and created their first real chance of a goal. Stewart Kean, who has been the burden of so many teams during his career, was unable to remain stable in the wet conditions. His turn and shot after some nice link play saw his effort head high and wide of target with 50 minutes on the clock.
From Fraser’s kick out, Cowie set Marius Niculae on yet another run. Wyness would have been a better option in hindsight, as Marius’ snap shot from just outside the box was not hit cleanly enough, and the slippery ball was easily gathered by Chris Smith.
Wyness was evidently enjoying the ball played to feet, and had we stuck to the usual long ball routine, he would have certainly been out the game. His wee dinks to create chances, his ability to hold the ball up and his partnership with Niculae up front ensured we maintained decent spells of pressure in the early stages.
The second half was end to end stuff for the majority, and St Mirren’s next chance came from a Free Kick on 53 minutes. Phil McGuire, who was having a good game in central defence, was on hand to clear off the line and set the midfield off. Russel Duncan, who was the match day sponsors eventual man of the match, sent the ball through to Niculae, who in turn provided Dennis Wyness with an opportunity to extend the lead. Once again the weather conditions making the game play sloppy, and Dennis could only see his weak shot saved once again by Chris Smith.
St Mirren's best chances of the game fell in the last 20-25 minutes. Alan Millen provided a deep free kick into the box which was headed onto his own post by Phil McGuire. A fortunate escape! Franco Miranda on the right, was causing lots of problems for Richard Hastings and Grant Munro, and eventually managed on the odd occasion to provide decent deliveries into the box.
With the continued pressure at the back, Inverness struggled to get the ball to the front pairing, and with the introduction of John Rankin, the ICT faithful were expecting good things. Stewart Kean and Gary Mason had superb opportunities to level the score with the later seeing a decent volley flash past Frasers’ left hand post, whilst Kean was only able to fire wide when one on one with the Caley number one. Approximately 10 minutes remained on the clock, and the Buddies were reduced to 10 men. Marius Niculae was released down the right flank, and managed to thunder his was past Gary Mason before being chopped down by Will Haining. Had he not already been booked it would have surely been a straight red. There seemed to be no real attempt to play the ball, and the referee had no hesitation in producing a second yellow card.
John Rankin provided one of his trademark free kicks into the box and Niculae was unable to connect. The ball was cleared only as far as Russel Duncan. Provided with acres of space, Duncan was able to shoot from 25 yards but could not test the keeper.
Referee Crawford had an indifferent game, with some decisions questionable. Deflected shots wide were not given as corners, strong tackles were awarded but some players went unpunished, but the most questionable decision came on 84 minutes. Marius Niculae managed to fight his way through for an attempt on goal, and was seemingly pulled back in the box. Cries of Penalty from players and fans fell of deaf ears and play was waved on. Inverness continued to hold on for a deserved and much needed victory. Craig Brewster said pre match that he wanted an early goal and it is that which proved decisive in keeping 3 points in Inverness.
Full Time: 1-0
St Mirren now lie just one point ahead of Inverness in ninth with a game in hand, with that victory meaning ICT climb out of the bottom two for the first time this season. Falkirk taking their place above Gretna.
3,699 were in attendance on a wet and windy day at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, and most were glad to not only see a victory, but some well worked play by the front two, some solid defending at times by McGuire and Proctor (whom replaced McCaffrey and Tokely) and John Rankin showing why he should regain his status as a first team regular. Still work to be done mind, and perhaps some play seen on the training field should be brought into the fray on the park.
Onwards and upwards to the dizzy heights of 9th for us next time round with a decent display at Tannadice? Lets hope so!!!
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By Guest in Reports 2007-08 ·

ICT V St Mirren - Preview

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After a poor performance against Motherwell the players have had a couple of weeks away from competitive football and everyone will be hoping they have taken stock, analysed where things went wrong and be ready to turn the tables on St Mirren. Gretna sit bottom but we only have a 6 point cushion and it is vital we start to points on the board and stop relying on their failings in order to keep our heads above water.
Inverness CT v St Mirren Saturday 24th November @ 3pm Tulloch Caledonian Stadium Referee: Crawford Allan Others: Gordon Middleton, Steve Pullar (Assistants), Steve Mckendrick (4th official)
FIXTURES Saturday 24th November: Falkirk v Rangers (Setanta, 12:30pm) Celtic v Aberdeen Hibernian v Dundee Utd Inverness CT v St Mirren Kilmarnock v Motherwell Sunday 25th November: Gretna v Hearts (Setanta, 2pm) SPL SO FAR After 12 games, it is of course the 2 old firm teams that are setting the early pace. However, no-one has told Dundee Utd or Hibernian yet and both teams (Utd and Hibs) are on the 25pt mark with Rangers, with Rangers only ahead due to goal difference. Even though Rangers beat Celtic in the only old firm game so far this season, Celtic have 28pts and are in pole position.
There is a 5 point gap to a surprisingly rejuvenated Motherwell, who have progressed massively since last season. Mark McGhee has got his team to an unexpected 5th place and they will do really well if they can stay there into 2008. Hearts and Aberdeen have both had ok starts to the season, with 18pts a piece, but both know there is room for improvements. Kilmarnock have 16pts and St Mirren without star man Dargo who has yet to play a game have 14 pts and will be happy. Falkirk have 12 pts in 10th place and Inverness CT have 10pts in 11th. Inverness have yet to produce a run of results but hopefully we are due a run of victories sooner rather than later. If Inverness are to climb the league however, they must give away less penalties and tighten the defence. But thankfully for the Highlanders, Gretna are in the SPL and only have 4pts, but many feel that eventually Gretna will get a wee run going at some point.
So, lets hope the SPL can add more thrills and spills over the coming weeks before we get our appetite ready for turkeys at Christmas. (sorry, had to mention xmas!!) PAST MEETINGS The teams have played a total of 25 times (11 League, 4 Cup) with 69 goals (49 Inverness CT, 21 St Mirren) between them. Inverness CT: 14 wins (9 League, 4 Cup) Draws: 6 (6 League, 0 Cup) St Mirren: 5 wins (5 League, 0 Cup) A GAME TO REMEMBER For this weeks game to remember we take you back to the first ever match between the teams. It took place on the 10th of August 1999 in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Inverness CT won the match 1-0 thanks to an 88th minute Mike Teasdale goal. The attendance on the day was 1334. The teams were as follows: INVERNESS CT: Fridge, Mann, Tokely, Hastings, Golabek, Teasdale, Christie, McCulloch, Sheerin, Stewart, McLean. Subs- Robson, Shearer, Glancy. ST MIRREN: Roy, McLaughlin, Turner, Baltacha, Nicolson, Murray, Drew, Kerr, McGarry, Brown, Yardley. Subs- Mendes, Lavety, Ross. The referee was Garry Mitchell and there were no bookings on the day. Two of the Inverness players from that match still play for the club. FACTS BETWEEN THE TEAMS
Inverness CT have won all cup meetings between the sides. Inverness CT’s Paul Ritchie is the top scorer in the fixture with 8 goals. Next is Dennis Wyness with 7. St Mirren’s top scorer in the fixture is Yardley with 3. The biggest win in the fixture was when Inverness CT won 5-0 on 6/5/2000. McCulloch got 2, with Xausa, Wilson and Bavidge all getting one goal. Inverness CT were unbeaten in 9 games against St Mirren at Love Street until the earlier fixture this season. St Mirren beat Inverness 2-1 with Don Cowie scoring his first ever goal for Inverness CT. This fixture averages 2.76 goals a game. PLAYERS TO WATCH Marius Niculae (Inverness CT): The Romanian international made his long awaited debut for the club back in August. He is looking to get back into the Romanian squad for Euro 2008 and to do that, he will need to start banging in goals for the Highlanders first and there will be no better way to start than by helping Caley Thistle get a much needed victory this weekend. With Bayne suspended, he is bound to start, and surely this time, the goal will come. Craig Dargo (St Mirren): Not really a player to watch on the field for this game, but maybe you can watch him in the stands !!! Craig left ICT during the summer and joined the Paisley buddies. He was previously very prone to injuries but during his spell in the highlands he was very lucky and only had one injury that lasted a little more than a month. However he chose to leave ICT and look what happens .... he has now been injured for 3 months, and is not expected to return until Christmas or even the New Year. ICT fans will doubtless feel a little sorry for Craig as he was great for us, but as long as he is on the sidelines we have a better chance of getting 3pts on Saturday.
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By Guest in Previews 2007-08 ·

Inverness CT 0-3 Motherwell - SPL

You ever had one of those days where nothing went right? For Craig Brewster, this match will rank up there as being one of the worst.....
Graham Bayne and Ross Tokely were both red carded, the fans were furious at what they saw as bad refereeing and the game was lost 0-3 as the team simply did not perform. Add the horrible early winter wind, rain, and sleet to this and it made today's game feel even worse.
Motherwell's goals came from David Clarkson - one in each half - and Darren Smith who got a goal 3 minutes from time.
10/11/07 Tulloch Caledonian Stadium INVERNESS CT 0 Team: Fraser, Tokely, Munro, McCaffrey, Hastings, Cowie, Duncan, Black (Wilson 46), McBain (Rankin 79), Bayne, Wyness (Niculae 75)
Subs: D. McDonald, Vigurs, Kerr, Malkowski
MOTHERWELL 3 Clarkson (15,53), Smith (87) Team: Smith, Quinn, Reynolds, Craigan (Kinniburgh 81), Paterson, McGarry (Smith 70), Lasley, O'Donnell, Clarkson, Porter, McCormack (Grabban 70)
Subs: Corrigan, Fitzpatrick, Murphy, Meldrum
Referee Chris Boyle Attendance 3608  
Craig Brewster made one change to the side that lost last week against Rangers. Don Cowie returned to the side and David Proctor dropped out altogether. John Rankin, whose continued absence from the squad prompted much discussion on the forums was listed as a substitute. Mark McGhee named the same side that started the previous week for Motherwell which meant an attacking 4-3-3 formation.
Referee Chris Boyle was in charge of only his 4th SPL match in two years and had issued 12 yellows and two reds in the previous 3 SPL games. That would rise to 14 and 4 by the end of this game. The whistler has also been card happy in his other games this season with his stats for all 7 games he has officiated this season being 30 yellows and 6 reds !!!
Anyhow, on to the game itself ….
The first fifteen minutes were pretty turgid and there were no real chances. Motherwell probably had the better of play but the closest they came to goal was earning a corner in 10 minutes which went out for a goal kick. Another corner came in the 15th minute and Motherwell went ahead. Ross McCormack took an inswinging corner. It was headed on by Stephen Craigan and David Clarkson was on hand to turn it into the net.
A couple of minutes later and Motherwell might have been two ahead – Chris Porter headed the ball into the net from a Ross McCormack cross but it was judged as offside. A minute after that Ross McCormack had another effort but his drive went over the bar.
Graham Bayne had been getting pulled up all afternoon by the ref and after giving away more fouls in 23, 24 and 26 minutes, the ref finally booked him for persistent fouling.
Although Motherwell were in the ascendancy, it was not all one-way traffic and Caley Thistle had three good chances near the end of the half. Tokely and Wyness combined to setup Russell Duncan and he decided to have a go from 20 yards. Unfortunately it went way over the bar.
A couple of minutes later a Cowie free-kick was headed into the six yard box and Grant Munro got on the end of it. Despite some cheers from the crowd as the net bulged, it soon became apparent that it was bulging the wrong way and the shot had hit the side netting. 4 minutes from half-time and it was Russell Duncan again who had another chance, this time he shot from 18 yards but put it left of target.
Half-Time ICT 0-1 Motherwell
Craig Brewster made a substitution at half-time and this too has been the subject of a lot of debate. Many felt that Niculae for Bayne may have been sensible given the referee’s apparent dislike for Graham’s style of play but it was Barry Wilson who came on and Ian Black that was subbed. Rumours of a half-time dressing room bust-up and sightings of Blackie leaving the stadium before the second half even kicked off have been rampant ever since ….
The folly of not subbing Graham Bayne at half-time would come back to haunt the Caley Jags gaffer after just 5 minutes. He was adjudged to have fouled David Clarkson on the half way line and the referee deemed it a bookable offence. As he had already been booked the red was produced and Caley Thistle were down to 10 men.
Barely two minutes later and the game was effectively over. Ross McCormack made a run down the left wing and crossed to the back post for Clarkson. It was blocked near the line by Motherwell player Chris Porter but Clarkson blasted the rebound high into the net to make it 2-0. The fact that this goal was allowed to stand, with Porter not once but twice being in an offside position in many fans and players eyes ended it for Caley Thistle. From this point on every decision the ref made was questioned, the players became frustrated and it was inevitable that more yellows or reds were to follow.
Roy McBain was the next one into the book as he lambasted the so-called “assistant referee” after a challenge from James Paterson and then he went back for more and was lucky not to walk for it.
A red card however was coming in the near future and in the 62nd minute, it was issued to fan favourite Ross Tokely who was judged to have elbowed/punched Steve McGarry as the pair tussled off the ball. There is a suggestion that McGarry made the most of it, and that his own manager may have made a diving gesture to the player when he was subbed a little later, but the bottom line is that Tokely raised his hands (or elbow) to the player and you just don’t do that … to do it with 11 men on the park is bad enough, but to do it when you are 2-0 down and already down to 10 men is inexcusable. It is also somewhat reminiscent of a similar incident at Ayr a few years ago where the big man lost it, got sent off and was forced to spend the rest of the match in the team bus as ICT were hammered 5-1.
The scoreline didn’t get that bad in this match, but it might have had the Motherwell attackers got more on target. In 66 minutes David Clarkson shot over the bar and Porter did similar in 70 minutes.
Fifteen minutes before the end, Marius Niculae replaced Wyness but he could do nothing to get ICT back into it. It was definitely a rearguard action as the team went to a 4-3-1 formation with Cowie covering at right back and this meant that Motherwell could basically attack at will. The third nearly came in 77 minutes as Lasley powered through the ICT defence but his cross to Porter was intercepted by Hastings who did well to stop the attack.
The last throw of the dice was to bring on John Rankin for Roy McBain in 79 minutes but it was too little too late by this time. 11 minutes isn’t very long to have an impact with 11 players on the park but with 9 its asking for a miracle.
Although Don Cowie had just been announced as the sponsors’ man of the match, Motherwell sealed the win with a third goal just 3 minutes from time when “real” man of the match David Clarkson crossed for substitute Darren Smith who slotted home an easy chance. Many ICT fans didn’t see this goal as they had left in droves long before the final whistle in what was undoubtedly one of ICT worst performances in the SPL.
Full Time: 0-3
Speaking after the match Craig Brewster had sympathy for Graham Bayne but lambasted Tokely saying “I certainly thought the first sending off is harsh as it seemed that everytime Graham Bayne went up for a ball in the first half he was punished and we told Graham at half-time to be careful. However the second red card is a disgrace, Tokely has let himself down and his team mates down, with ten men you are up against it but with nine men it is damage limitation and I will deal with him internally on Monday.” [source: www.ictfc.co.uk]
Club Captain Grant Munro said something very similar “Ross's was a definite red card; what he did was very stupid and he let himself down firstly and also the team. I thought Graham's red card was harsh - it seems for some reason that he gets booked in every game he plays. He's a centre forward so he's got to be strong and I don't think he did much wrong from my own and the team's points of view. It's not about the referee, though, it's about how we perform and we were disappointing, simple as that. The game was very difficult when Graham was sent off and it was an uphill task when Ross stupidly got sent off so it was about digging in and keeping it respectable, but I thought we did that and played a lot better with nine men than we probably did with 11” [source: Scotsman newspaper]
 
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By Guest in Reports 2007-08 ·

Celtic Tickets now on sale

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Home end tickets for the match against Celtic FC on 16th December are now on sale to priority groups in the club's ticket office.
Priority members will have the option to purchase up to six tickets each (subject to availability).
If you dont currently qualify for priority tickets read on to find out how you can qualify!
Priority groups are as follows :
Season Ticket Holders Shareholders Centenary Club Members Supporters Trust Members Supporters Club Members The club have announced that purchasers of 'half-season' tickets [see article] will also be allowed to purchase up to six tickets for this game.
Furthermore, those ICT supporters who purchase tickets in advance for upcoming games against Motherwell, St Mirren and Hibernian will also be able to purchase the equivalent number of tickets for the Celtic game on production of their ticket stubs (i.e. buy two tickets for St Mirren and have the opportunity to purchase two tickets for the Celtic match).
If there are any tickets left over after all this .... they will go on public sale on 3rd December.
PRICES Main Stand
Adult - £27 Concession - £22
North stand
Adult - £22 Concession - £17
Family Enclosure
Adult - £17 Child - £9
West Stand
Adult - £22 Concession - £17
If you have any queries, or need more details, please call the Ticket Office on 01463 222880 Option 1 or call in at the Club Shop, open from 10am till 4.30pm Monday to Friday and from 10am on matchdays.
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By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Half-Season Tickets Now on Sale

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The Club have announced that half-season tickets are now available to purchase from the stadium.
The tickets are effective from 29th December 2007 (ICT V Kilmarnock) but purchasers will also have the option to purchase up to 6 tickets for the Celtic game on 16th December.
Half Season Tickets   Main Stand North Stand Family Enclosure Adult £165 £140 £100 Senior Citizen (age 60 as of 01/05/07) £105 £75 £50 Student (on production of current matriculation card) £105 £75 £50 Child (U-16 as at 01/08/07 or still at school) £65 £40 £40 "Centenary" Child (Child of centenary club member) £65 £40 £40 For more details call the Ticket Office on 01463 222880 Option 1 or call in at the Club Shop, open from 10am till 4.30pm Monday to Friday and from 10am on matchdays.
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

Hart Reinstated

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A short statement on the Official club site has confirmed that the Richie Hart saga is now over and he is back in training. The statement reads as follows ...
"Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC have completed their assessment of the situation relating to their player Richard Hart, who has been suspended since admitting a drug offence at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Hart has been subjected to internal disciplinary measures. His suspension has been lifted and he returned to training today (Monday)".
Guest
By Guest in News 2007-08 ·

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