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Fair effort in the end to keep the season alive in the league. Great run to bring it to this stage when we looked completely out of it at the start of the year. Injuries, Hamilton and Dodds have done us in the end. We can now look forward to the Highland Derby next season...as well as Hamilton... No game now until the pre-season friendly with Celtic at Hampden Park on Sat 3 June in the blazing heat of the mid-day sun...oh...wait...make that the late afternoon sun. Quite how Mr Dodds and his merry men will prepare the team for this without any game time remains to be seen. Mon the Caley Jags - unbeaten in Scottish Cup Finals.

The guy in question was sat near me and was pissed and hurling abuse through the game. At one point guy sat in front of him complained due to spit from his vitriol landing on his head; made no difference and he continued. Completely out of order. As the game was finishing he went down to the pitch where he must have given some of his abuse to Dodds; who in the tense finish to the game has reacted. The abusive individual was 100% out of order; no excuse at all for that behaviour. An extremely bad example to all ICT fans.

Ayr fully deserved that win last night. All over us from the get go and looked better all over the pitch for most of the game. We did get on top for a period in the second half but even then they still looked a threat on the break. Thought at the time the opener may have been offside but the videos above clearly show he was on. Bizarre from Dodds to watch us shell long balls forward to Mckay (but most of the time it was no one) and think this was okay. So many players fell flat at a time when we needed them. Worst was Allardice who had an absolute nuke of a performance. Taking on Woods instead of Doran was laughable. Just more bizarre Dodds moments that sum up our season. As I've said before results recently have been good but performances have been poor for a good number of weeks. We were able to shitfest our way past jobbers like Cove but when a decent team like Ayr comes along we're found wanting. The league next season could be the most difficult in a while and it's hard not to feel we've missed our best chances to get out of here now.

I have always said that he left us far too early in his career, he wasn't even a regular starter in our first eleven, and really hadn't fulfilled his potential with ICT. It would have been more beneficial if he had been loaned back to us right after his transfer, like Ryan Christie was, to continue his development, instead of in and out of the Hibs team. I know he had a bad injury, and then was loaned to Kilmarnock in the championship, where he was more often or not on the bench, but that didn't do much for his confidence and development. It all honesty he should have come back to us then, but he probably thought it would look like a backward step. He should be ripping this league up, but only shows it in flashes. In my opinion, I think Dan is a player who performs well when we are coasting or winning in games, but when the team struggles, Dan can sometimes be posted missing. I really hope he turns his career around, because I believe he has so much talent, and would hate to see him drift from club to club and just be another anonymous player. Coming back to us permanently would be the best thing for Dan and ICT, it would give him stability and the chance to reignite his career.

Big mistake not playing him there last night imho

Doran has obviously lost the pace he had on the wing in his younger days, but he is a creative player with a good football brain, and I thought he was a shoe-in to play behind Billy Mckay, threading through passes and creating chances, injuries permitting. If we can offer Doran another year contract, I believe he would be beneficial for the squad and for another push for the championship.

Why is everyone wanting rid of Esson? Doing a fantastic job with the U18s and as goalie coach. Ridiculous suggestion

In the unlikely event we win the Europa League would we gain automatic qualification into Champions league? 😅😛

League season is sadly over. Attention for the next 4 weeks focuses on another big day out at Hampden, a chance to pull off one the greatest cup final upsets ever and earn a crack at the Europa League!

I can't see the Board not offering Dodds a new contract unless there are circumstances we are not aware of. I would be opposed to a contract of more than a year though as his record is decidedly mixed. It is true that we have had a bad run of injuries but Dodds does rather overplay that in order to deflect blame from himself. Before Friday's game he was saying that apart from Sutherland and Walsh, he had a full squad to pick from. One must therefore assume that the 11 he put out on the park were what he considered to be the best 11 in the squad. However, with the exception of Carson for Deas, we had the same starting line up for the 2 woeful defeats at the hands of Hamilton in February. On the other hand, when we thrashed Cove 6-1 on January 2nd, there were 5 in the starting line up who didn't start on Friday night. There is more to our poorer performances than just guys on the injury list. For me the key factor is our ability to hold onto our better players and the ability to recruit new talent. We have never been great at retaining our better players, but that is understandable as players who excel here will always get offers elsewhere which our Board can't match. But we have generally been good on the recruitment side and in recent years it is Robbo who has been the key man here. He has always had an excellent network of contacts. Whatever the the Board decide, it will be vital that we have somebody in the club who can identify and persuade promising young players of the calibre of Delaney, Deas, Henderson, Shaw and Samuels to come to Inverness. Unless we can maintain that ability, the only way we will be able to get out of the Championship is through the back door. Without good recruitment it will take a much more astute coach than Dodds to keep us in the Championship.

6th place looks rubbish but I’m taking that with a pinch of salt when I look at how close he was to second. I worry for next season with most of our best players out of contract though. I’m not really confident anyone is going to come in and win over our support who expect us to be winning this league. A big overhaul is needed and it’s going to be one big gamble to see if it pays off.

You're clutching at straws now 😂

What absolute nonsense! You are renowned for posting absolute b———s but this takes the biscuit.

Don’t really see any benefit in ditching Dodds before the final. Granted he’s no great tactician but I think he’s earned his day in the limelight and then he can bow out gracefully…

Not meant as a bashing, but I wonder if Daniel is as disappointed with himself this season as I am with his performances? League stats show, 3 goals 5 assists Played 34 games Goal every 688 minutes (7 to 8 games). Compared to Jay Henderson, who similarly is here on loan to restart his career. 4 goals, 3 assists in 16 games. Daniel hasn't even been in the starting 11 quite often and on the bench. If he can't start in a bottom half Championship side, where will he be at Hibs? Sad to see and sad to say that he has been poor. Maybe half a dozen games he has done well in? Looks like Neil McCann did well to let us get 100k or so for him from Hibs. See him being a journeyman round Championship / League 1 teams ala Joe Chalmers, as opposed to a Ryan Christie.

At this stage I wouldn't ditch Dodds as there's not enough time for the replacement to get to know the squad for such a big game. What he needs to do though is work on tactics that avoid the big punt up the park. Championship sides gobble those up for breakfast. The likes of Celtic will enjoy them for dinner and supper too. Not making the play offs may be a blessing in disguise for me as I don't think we would have been good enough for the awful SPL. I agree entirely with your second paragraph. Recuperation, fitness and team building will be vital. I'd add watching Celtic videos until they've got green and white stripes in their eyes. They can be beaten...we just got to find a way how to do that.

Also one of the most qualified coaches in the UK. We're lucky to have him at the club.

Is that not his job though IHE? I think by putting same team out we played straight into Ayr's hands? It was too predictable. I'd have put Carson in for Duffy. I'd have had Doran on from start and yes Dan Mckay on bench as when game changed he was already off but it was crying out for a player like him. I can forgive Allardyce he just had a bad day at office performance. Shaw is not a number 10. He is a wide player who happens to be able to play No10 sometimes. I'm rambling here but I'm so disappointed. A big crowd there and we lose a lot of newbies again I bet. I'm also concerned re the long break till the final. Makes it even harder now. Seriously could cry this morning with frustration and disappointment. Been a horrible season again and my preference would be for changes in the management team but doubt that's going to happen. Do we renew our STs? Honestly I don't know at moment.

I am going to stick by Dodds in starting the same 11 as the cup semi-final. Can I pose some important questions - Did we "hoof" the ball to wee Billy anymore than we did at Hampden ? I note that Allardice had an off day - has he not been the rock in the midfield ? was his form a big negative last night ? Welsh was struggling at the end of the Hamilton and Hampden games ? How did he look last night ? Would you have started Carson in midfield in preference to either Allardice and Welsh ? Would starting Carson at right back been more effective / Would that have been fair on either Duffy or Harper ? I agree that Shaw is a more effective winger but would you have dropped either Danny MacKay or Henderson to start Shaw in that decision ? SO was it the formation or was it the players who failed - or both ? Were the changes made in the second half positive and understandable ? Would you have kicked off if you had been heckled ? Was that not borne out of the same disappointment and frustration as felt in the stands ? Does this defeat wipe out the performances and results achieved in the last couple of months ? If somebody said to you in February that we would be in with a play off chance in the last game of the season would you have laughed ? Would you have believed that we would be in the Scottish Cup Final and playing Celtic ? Now I do think that Robbo and Dodds need to go and we need a manager with a different style and approach. That may be the only way that we keep some of the current squad and attract newbies. Jettisoning Scott Gardner does not make any sense but does he have the tackle to jettison Dodds and Robbo. Simply offer them a lesser contract and refuse BBC release.

Needed him on last night for the 2nd half. No idea if he's injured or otherwise but only real creative player we have, surround him with the other guys and let him get some space to at least pass or try turn a man. Sad end if he is away that a club servant of this duration never even got a run out in the last game and not accepting he couldn't have been on instead of Woods. Probably see him at Elgin or HL next year.

The yoyo on this thread based on the last month is hilarious. Dodds is a fraud, his tactics for 2 seasons are basic, we are tepid and negative with a long ball to short guys in desperation. Successive mid season collapses with excuses every time and dressing room issues. Injuries has been this years get out, but the line ups changed yet we never changed tactics or shape to compensate. Over the next few wks I expect apathy to reduce and fans reflect with the golden egg of a cup final being enough to appease so this lame duck gets another season or more.

Exactly that. I believe we would be guaranteed 8 games!

Yes, I'd keep Ryan, his reputation is growing. We were in line with the build up to their goal and it did look offside, the assistant ref was behind the play, but there were some really bad decisions from the officials tonight, but it was the wrong lineup, wrong formation and wrong tactics, but it had been happening all season.

Gutted! Never at the races tonight. Dodds set us up all wrong and played right into their hands.Too many players off colour tonight too. We then ran out of luck. Their first goal looked offside. Our chalked off goal was onside. But in the end it didn't matter. Yes I'm singing now IHE..... As for above I agree re a clearout but I'd keep Ryan Esson as he does fabulous work with the goalies and more importantly the U18s. What a disappointing night and quite the comedown from last Saturday.

6th place is such a disappointment after that amazing run built our hopes up - followed by 1 point from our final 2 league games, yet still be just 3 points off second place. So many what ifs…

Tell them that if they don't sign a new contract, they don't play in the final.

I'm very surprised that there has been no word of any pre contract agreements for any of our players so far. In past seasons we knew that some of our out of contract players were going, Shinnie was off to Aberdeen, and Vincent, Williams and Ross were away to Dundee. Have any players been offered contracts with us or anybody else? It could be the difference between some supporters renewing their season tickets, if they don't know who is off and who is staying.

Looking at the squad signed for next season if we don’t get Doran to agree another year I worry we’ll be starting off very weak in that department.

I too harbour concern about what the score will be having attended Friday night’s performance and the fallout. My reasons The team let everyone involved and supporting the team not to mention themselves down. Leadership - There was something more deeper than just a bad day at the office for most of the team. It was clear we didn’t have a player / figurehead that could stand up and bring the team together and lead them when needed. From the goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack they all stayed within their own ‘zone’. Thinking back it became clear to me that had been the pattern for pretty much every home game this season. This leads me to wonder who is going to marshal the team when things get tough on the day of the final? Tactics/Style of play - I have seen two styles of play this season from our team. 1) The stock or standard pattern of play-safe, pedestrian square-passing from the goalkeeper-defenders-midfield where playing backward is the plan A. Boring to watch and a disaster waiting to happen. Hump high balls continuously at a bantamweight tiny striker!! 2) Fast slick passing down the wings inter-passing between the midfield and striker, inevitably creating a chance on goal. Unfortunately (2) was the exception and a bit part of our season. Style (1) will just bring wave upon wave of attack from the opposition. Substitutes - I have to raise the manager and his ability to interpret the match and his team’s performance and make timely changes that can influence (positively) the match. There has been a lot of words written on this forum about injuries to players and whether B Dodds is good or bad as a manager. I can only make my opinion on what I see at the home games as a season ticket holder. Over the piece I have to come down on the side that their has been games where the manager’s uncertainty or lack of vision has cost us points due to either poor timing or players selected when changing them. Rightly or wrongly I am of the opinion B Dodds expects his players to hack out results without any serious thought on how to counter the oppositions match play. It doesn’t inspire me and I can’t imagine the players get much from the dugout when they are looking for guidance. So, when we walk out at the cup final we are up against a team that most certainly will have more skilful players, with 4 or 5 patterns of play that they can change at any time of the game. A manager that insists on his players move with speed in a controlled way and strikers that would not be out of place in the English premiership. Throw in a giant loud support, and a month of no games now for ICT it will call on everyone of ICT players and Management to be on top of their game. Friday night’s performance and attitude against Ayr on one of the biggest games of the season makes it more difficult for me to think this was a one-off. Hope I’m wrong!!!

Fair play for a great effort to get into the position we were in last night despite the disappointing outcome - 8 weeks ago I thought there was more chance of us being in a dogfight last night with Arbroath, Cove and the Accies! A missed opporchancity without a doubt for many reasons this season with most of them being homemade. I agree with IHE that everyone probably need the 4 weeks of rest before the cup final and during that time a start can be made to sort out and clear out before we go again next season - coz that ain’t gonna be a walk in the park by any means!

I think that is pretty clear from our expectations of being at least in the top 4 so it's a definite DO NOT RENEW CONTRACT from me!

If Dodds and his coaching staff are in place next season, then I don’t see us achieving Premiership status as being realistic. To keep them in place, is to repeat the previous seasons mistakes and shortsightedness. If that is all that we can afford, then cut some staff, save some money and achieve the same result. Over to you board members !!!!!!

Agree with first three but not Esson. He is doing a fantastic job with the under 18s.

On the plus side, only one more preview and report to do 😀

Ask Ridgers, Samuels and Doran what happens when players dare stand up to/don't do what's asked for by Dodds 🤷‍♂️

I just can't bring myself to watch it!

We know that the club overspent by around £800k chasing promotion in 21/22. Who knows how much we've overspent by in the past 12 months failing at the same thing. Club debts were sitting at near £2 Million 12 months ago and could easily have increased by another million by now. Cup money might wipe out losses from the last 12 months, but the way we're operating is not sustainable and we're likely in a worse state now than when we had to sell everything to keep the club going...and we don't have near as many assets this time around. If that's the cost of having Dodds trying to achieve promotion, then the football arguments don't matter as we simply can't afford it. Let's bring in a manager/head coach that doesn't need the massive coaching staff, the sports scientists, the video analysts, sporting director etc that probably account for half of those £800k losses. Let's get rid of the CEO who's running things this way while we're at it.

Is it this?

He may be past his best, but his best was smoking it for us in the top division, and if not for some injury issues, could/should have played at a higher level. He might not have the same pace he used to, but he has experience and smarts. Still more than enough in his game to be an important player for us in the Championship and if we don't get him signed up, then I'll put money on him ending up OTB if/when they are relegated.

In the unlikely (but not impossible) event that we win the cup, at what stage would we enter the Europa League: is it the last knock out round before the group stages? If so, and we lose that, do we parachute into the Europa Conference group stages? I’ve not paid much attention to how these competitions work, but curious about what the unlikely scenario could be.

Tonight was the story of our season. Didn't turn up for half of it, then when we did finally get ourselves into a position to progress we left it too little too late ! Most disappointing thing is that this was the 'easiest' Championship for years and we've finished 6th!! Time for major changes methinks (though that'll be happening anyway as most of the squad are out of contract). Bit of a worry as to where we go from here. We don't have the means to spend our way to promotion so need to get lucky with new signings/new management? Don't think I can take another season of some of the square-passing pedestrian turgid pish we've been served up this season. We must be more imaginative and much faster. Really hope we don't play like we did first half tonight in the cup final, or it could be extremely embarrassing!

I missed the first 20 minutes as it took 105 minutes to get from Perth City Centre to the A9 courtesy of those blasted roadworks. Don’t think I missed much though! I thought the Ayr goal was offside but tight: need to see it again. I was proud of the guys after the break. Some were dead on their feet but gave it 100% and I think that’s why Allardice and Welsh were subbed. Devine was struggling before the break so I assume was injured. The introduction of Carson and Samuels changed things, as Shaw was excellent in the wide role and Carson showed why he’s really a central midfielder. I hoped we’d kick on and get a winner but Ayr caught us, despite seeming happy to play down the clock at 1-1. I thought Samuels was onside when he “equalised” but it was too little too late anyway. A rollercoaster of a season. Should we have done better in the league: yes. Did injuries impact our position: undoubtedly. Did our tactics let us down: yes, particularly “hoofball”. Have we a great group of players who give 100% and deserve praise: yes. Roll on the cup final. I expect a heavy defeat but in a one off game anything can happen. Hopefully planning is taking place for next season as we will have quite a bit of rebuilding to do, on and possibly off the park.

Do I think he will get an extension? Yes Do I think he should? No Just not good enough over the season

Absolute disaster of a night, no competitive football for a month and we are expected to turn up and give Celtic a game ,wtf. They have now 5 warm up games while we just kick our heels. Tonight was a huge let down for a decent crowd and all the momentum we had built up over the last couple of weeks just evaporated in a terrible 90 minutes. If you asked any ICTfan who would you take in the last game of the season (at home) Ayr would have been up there. But for some reason tonight we bottled it, big style. 2 maybe 3 shots on target in a must win game ....not good enough.

Couldn't agree more with you, Dodds picked the same side that beat Falkirk, and we didn't play particularly well in that game, although we scored the three goals, I really thought he'd freshen the team up, and that Carson would have played from the start, and although I think Shaw is the find of the season, he's not suited to play behind the striker, when he was switched to the left in the second half what a difference it made. I thought we looked like a tired team tonight, and we really need to cut out the needless passing across the back four, and then back to Ridgers, it's pointless.

Iain Vigurs has helped Cove Rangers earn a place in League One.

Let’s be open and honest here. Big backing crowd, lovely night for football, big game and we didn’t turn up. The better team won hands down. You can’t play the way we did in the first half and expect anything more than what we got for our 45 minutes. From goalkeeper to front line we could not do the simplest of thing (like control the ball). Ayr were simply competent, but that was more than enough to overcome our efforts and comfortably see them through the game. Samuels was the difference that changed our fortunes. Still don’t understand why Shaw wasn’t on the left wing from the start, but it’s a moot point now. ‘Fortune favours the brave’. A quote you couldn’t find in the home dressing room tonight! Good luck to Ayr in there playoffs

I will start off with - How the feck do you start off without the original starters from the Semi Final - we have been employing the tippy tappy from the back for most of the season which the large majority of teams also employ - I dont like it and would prefer the Pele approach - but that sadly is in the past. It was unfortunately a game too far = I suspect Allardice and especially Welsh were knackered. And to end with - I actually think that a month off could be to our advantage. We would have been on our knees if we got through the play offs. This could still end up as the seasons of all seasons. And now a lot of things can be sorted out behind the scenes. And lets just pause to reflect on what we have accomplished in the last couple of months. I now would suggest that Dodds and Robbo have their swansongs at the top, at Hampden - bow out and let some new blood in at the helm.

Gutted, absolutely gutted. 😢

He's young enough to be able to play long enough to take the record. Get him signed up for next season.