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I've just wakened up from dreaming that it was 3-0 at half-time

An enjoyable afternoon. The first half hour was pretty even but we had an explosive 15 minutes before half time which settled the game. Wotherspoon is proving a real asset and I hope we extend his contract beyond January. Mckay did brilliantly to start the build up to the first goal. Wotherspoon squeezed his second in from a very tight angle and Mckay buried the penalty. None of us saw that all coming after 30 minutes. We were pinned back for most of the second half and Ayr’s penalty made it slightly nervy but we saw it out. My only complaint is that we invited Ayr on to us too much in the second half. However, Ridgers did not have much to do. We lost Anderson at half time, presumably to injury, but hopefully a precautionary change. The picks for me were Wotherspoon, Mckay and Boyes. Credit also to Harper who nullified Chalmers to the point we didn’t see Chalmers after the break. 11 points out of 15 and up to 8th. If we can win at Dunfermline in our first game in hand next week we will be 5th. Well done guys!

Duh-Duh---Duh-Duh-Duh-Duh----- Duncan Ferguson!!! Once again not a vintage performance by any means but we scored the goals at a really good time and then saw out the second half without much trouble..... I could get used to this!! There were some spells of nice interchanges and keeping the ball well; not as much as at Dundee Utd last week but that has to be a secondary concern at the moment anyways given our situation. What is clear is that the players are giving everything and growing in confidence under Big Dunc's regime - Carson and Harper prime examples of this. My standouts today were Boyes, Gilmour and MOTM David Wotherspoon who has been an excellent addition. Goals aside, he has given us an outlet which we didn't have before, holds the ball up well and brings others into play. Prior to his arrival Billy McKay was spending his time isolated and chasing lost causes. Now he is spending more time in the areas we want and need him, i.e. in the penalty box. Max Anderson has also really came onto a game since the new manager came in. One of the stewards at last week's game (who was a Dundee fan) said that they want him back.... I hope we can keep him until at least the end of the season. Hoping he's not injured and instead was taken off at half time as he was our only player sitting on a yellow card. 3-points at Dunfermline next week would be a huge statement to the rest of the teams in the league (Dundee Utd apart) and hopefully have us striving for the play-off places. Looking forward to it already and hopefully we can take a sizeable away support to help cheer the boys to victory. Don't want to get too carried away at this stage, and I'm sure there will be ups and downs throughout the season, but also feel we should enjoy the honeymoon period for as long as it lasts!

If we lose then it’s probably your fault.

I believe that, whether this was the club’s decision or Robbo’s, it is the correct one. Hopefully we are starting to see a renewed focus (maybe even listening) from those making the key decisions. Time will tell. I wish Robbo well. He did a decent job when Manager and his health issues clearly had an impact, which we should not overlook. I just hope it doesn’t mean we lose Iain Auld from Sportscene Results, as I record it so I can hear his views on our games when I get home, as they are always spot on.

First twenty minutes was pretty even however there was quite a few missed passes from us and Ayr closing down. The first goal seemed to settle us and had the opposite effect on Ayr. From then only one team in the rest of the first half. Dreamland at 3-0 second half was a bit of a grind however Ayr lacked a cutting edge; they only got one through Ridgers generosity of the penalty gift to celebrate his 250th game Wotherspoon MOM trajectory upwards at the moment; fasten the seatbelts

I think most of us were nippers when we last were 3 up at half time.Excellent performance great passing at speed and at last playing big boys football. Six weeks ago we looked that we might be going down,what turnaround under big Dunc

FT 3-1, that’s another really good result. Doesn’t matter that the 2nd half wasn’t as impressive as the first.

The club has not lacked vision with the appointment of big Dunc as manager but still lacks vision when listening to the fans who are their customers!

Nice to see a team that looks coached and has a bit of identity about how they are trying to play after the past seasons of drifting along. Still a work in progress but also nice to not feel the urge to fall asleep

I said at the start of the season we have a squad capable of competing for a play off spot. I still stand by that. Big Dunc has been a breath of fresh air. Wotherspoon has been a great addition.

Two games in hand over the next two above us. Win one of those and we rocket up to 5th. What a turn around. All credit to Dunc.

Dunc will be furious we conceded a goal. The team have to perform to his level now not theirs. But a very impressive 60% win record. Let's see what it is after ten games in charge. The manager is great. The players are good enough.Some of them may even progress their careers up the league this season with Caley. We may never catch Utd this year but we will be looking at 60+ pts by end of season. That should start frightening Partick, Raith , Dunfermline and Airdrie. And any team in 2nd last in the Premier league. Happy Clappy Caley again.

It's a tick box exercise to pretend we have an SLO. Gordon doesn't remotely perform the recognised functions of the role. With Robbo's departure, presumably the CEO will have even less time to address the concerns of fans. But this gives the club a real opportunity as there is the potential to reallocate some of Robbo's salary to a dedicated SLO. Even if on a part time basis with some volunteer support, there is so much an SLO could do in liaising with the fans and addressing some of the many issues identified by the Supporters Trust's Matchday Experience survey. Not only were a lot of issues identified, but respondents made a lot of very constructive suggestions too. All it requires is a bit of vision and a bit of common sense on behalf of the club. OK. So it's not going to happen.

All the best to Robbo, few could argue that you generally served us very well.

Totally agree with this. Gardiner employing someone to highlight his and the boards isolation and shortcomings?, zero chance of that. Gardiner still needs to go before our club returns to caring about and engaging with its fans.

I wish Robertson all the best and I am sure he gave ICT a lot of help, be that in his community efforts,or finding raw talent for the club. He was big enough to shout for help when he needed it personally and that was a sign of his character and integrity. Let's move on and consider using the salary to pay for an SLO,who can really break down barriers between club and supporters and can make it his or her mission to encourage more people to the Caledonian Stadium. Many clubs have a full time SLO who can do any amount of add on roles.

Wow that was a great first half it's been a long time coming! Although we were under pressure after Ayr scored their penalty we never looked like loosing like last season. Well done to Big Dunc and all the team

First Draft of CTO report

Maintaining the gap to DUtd which at this stage is all we can do to match them and try to better week on week. Dunc has clearly changed to whole mentality and atmosphere at the club. Let's maintain form til January and see what he can do with a backed transfer window.

I thought it was a very good meeting of the Trust today. I won’t pre-empt their note of the meeting but a lot of pertinent questions were asked of Director Scot Young, and then the Chairman Ross Morrison joined to give an update on the Battery Farm and what it could mean for the club if it happens.

Ayr team stayed overnight in Inverness so they must be fancying a result today; hopefully we won’t oblige them . Three points for us would be right handy at this point in time

Finding it hard to get excited for the game so soon after the devastating news of Robertson's departure. Hopefully the players aren't being impacted too badly by it and can pull off a win to keep us moving in the right direction.

Be good if we can get the 3 points and others in the middle of the park drop points so we can start climbing the table again soon. Not really bothered at this stage what the top 4 currently do we just need to chase safety

A big Friday night game: https://ictfc.com/tv-selection-dundee-united-h-12-01-2024/

Even a voluntary role for an effective SLO would be a start? Can't see the CEO bring overly keen though

Best wishes to the man. Did excellent when in the managerial chair. Personal problems caused him stress and grief that none of us would have liked to go through. However, at the end of the day, he was drawing a wage that none of us could see and reason for.

Some of the reactions on here are a bit bizarre. Good luck in the future Robbo

End of the day he took a wage that none of us would've turned down. Can't hate him for that. If the BBC was offering him more wages to be at Dingwall every 2nd Saturday then in all seriousness I can't blame him for that either! You look after number one. It's just a shame that it came out of the clubs pocket but that's our Chairmans and CEOs fault not Robbos. I honestly wish him all best and hopefully we can put his wages to better use. He's still a club legend to me and I still appreciate all the work he's done for the club and the community as a whole.

Robertson Leaving "His drive to establish the new 10 acre Hub for the ICT Community Trust working with Highland Council, Sport Scotland and the SFA and his input into accessing six figure grants for our Community Trust in particular has gone unseen by almost everyone out with the football club. We wish him well in his future endeavours and he will always be welcome at the Caledonian Stadium.” At the end of the day he was drawing a wage and we were not seeing the benefits of this. More often than not seen at Dingwall on match days. I doubt many will shed a tear, but let's no forget the good moments he had at the club and it's only since the introduction of the Sporting Director role that he has incurred the wrath of a section of our support. I for one will always be grateful for his efforts as manager and work in the background, however, throwing money away had to come to an end sometime. All the best Robbo.

We have ( Allegedly ) an SLO ! Gordon Fyfe has this title!