Charlie Christie was unveiled this morning as the new Caley Thistle manager. As widely speculated, the Caley Thistle legend will take over the hotseat and have Donald Park in position as his No.2

Charlie Christie became the first Highlander to be appointed to the helm of an SPL club when he accepted the post of Head Coach at Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC.

Donald Park, who had a successful previous spell at the club and is highly respected, returns to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium as Assistant Head Coach.

Both have signed two and a half year contracts and take up posts immediately.

Club chairman David Sutherland said:"We had a very robust spate of applications for the job, which is a sign of how far this club has come.

"But we're delighted to offer the Head Coach position to Charlie, with Donald Park at his side. Together they bring commitment and continuity to the club and we hope they can continue the progress made under previous incumbents. This is the blend approach I flagged up from the start - enthusiasm and an 'old head'.

"It's a milestone for the city and the supporters that an Inverness lad who came through the Highland League and has been connected with Caley Thistle as player and coach since its formation has now risen to command the top footballing position at the club."

The new Head Coach will report operationally to Director of Football Graeme Bennett who says:"Charlie is completing his UEFA Coaching Licence and is extremely well qualified to move to the next stage of his development by taking full charge of team affairs.

"He was always at the forefront of our thinking and we see his partnership with Donald Park as offering stability while allowing them to build on Craig Brewster's achievement to bring their own fresh thinking into play.

"We hope that going down the Highland route -- Donald being a Lochaber lad -- gives us a double act who will succeed and stay much longer than their predecessors."

Charlie Christie commented:"I'm grateful for this huge opportunity the club has given me and I'm determined to justify the board's confidence. It has perhaps come a bit earlier than anticipated but once I knew Donald Park was willing to work with me, I knew we had the capacity to get the job done.

"It's been a pleasure to work with an incredible group of players who I believe can achieve so much more if they want it badly enough.

"The high standard of fitness must be mantained and even improved and we'll work hard to do that and Donald and I will look at bringing in someone to help on that aspect.

"These players have superb self-belief and I want to keep that going while putting my own stamp on things in due course. As an Inverness lad, it's a special thrill to take this job -- others have moved from this club to achieve their dream, but with this appointment I'm where I want to stay."

Charlie Christie joined Caledonian FC in the Highland League as a 16 year old and moved to Inverness Thistle three years later. He signed for Celtic at 21 and spent two seasons there before returning north where he won honours with Caley and Thistle.

He has been involved with Caley Thistle since its inception and in February 2003 he became the first player to make 300 appearances for the club, a mark equalled only by Ross Tokely (November 2004). He combined playing and youth coaching until hanging up his boots in summer 2004. Craig Brewster appointed him a first team coach early in 2005.

Donald Park was signed by Caley at 16 from Lochaber High School and was transferred to Hearts two years later. After a long playing career, he coached at both Hibs and Hearts. He left Caley Thistle in November 2004 to become assistant manager at Hearts.