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A long way to come home after getting beat but well done to all those fans who made the effort to support the team

Sizeable turnout today and vocal for large parts. It’s what was needed to reaffirm to the players we’re behind them and to confirm to prospective buyers we’re a solid investment. Lengthy and solid clapping the troops off the field at the end in spite of the result was a nice touch of solidarity and support.

Would like to add our good wishes to Scott and the team. We heard an interview with him before rhe game today and he spoke really well, focusing on the football and also saying he made sure to says thanks to the released players for their hard work and contributions - it was a breath of fresh air.

A positive Caleyaway today despite the score. We were decent for an hour but in the end it wasn't to be. Don't think Dunbarton a happy hunting ground for us? 25 cup finals to come. It isn't over till it's over

It is such a tight league with just 5 points separating the other 9 teams. It doesn't look as though any other team is going to get detached from the pack and therefore we are likely to need to reach a decent points total if we are to avoid ending up bottom. Averaging a point a game usually has teams in the relegation mix so we are likely to need at least 36 points on the board, or in practice as we are at minus 3, to get 39 points from our remaining 25 games. That could be, for example, 11 wins, 6 draws and 8 defeats. I think that is difficult but achievable. But we do need to start winning games soon. Another 3 or 4 defeats before the New Year and will need to show title winning form for the rest of the season just to avoid relegation. It was great to hear of the good support from our fans today. It will be crucial that we get better home support than we have been getting recently. It is not the fault of the current playing and coaching staff that we are where we are and they really need us to get behind them.

Just watched the after match interview, it was so refreshing, honest, upbeat despite result today and not blaming anything and everything for the loss. Much more positive. Onwards from here.

Some of the people who have been running this club in recent years seem to be re-enacting some great big game of Monopoly - buying, selling, wheeling, dealing in all manner of tradable items. Meanwhile the club has gone from Mayfair to Old Kent Road without even passing Go and collecting £200. I think the administrator is going to get his eyes opened when he realises the amount of complete nonsense that’s been going on, allegedly in the name of football.

Don’t give up hope! As Scotty has said, the players only knew on Thursday if they still had jobs, and the new management team had little time with them. A result would have helped today but we still have 25 games left. Every game is critical, so let’s get behind the players at home next Saturday.

Yes, good to see a more positive post. I too wish the new set up all the best. I've supported ICT, and Caley before that, for too long to give up now. I've generated quite a following of locals here in sunny Berkshire who follow ICT results keenly. We don't travel north to many games anymore (as most of us are 'getting on a bit' nowadays). But I've been touched how many people, even outside my close friends, have come up to me in recent weeds to wish ICT well. Onwards and upwards

This could be the start of exciting times....maybe. Wishing the new management team and players all the very best. Could Scott become the new 'Pele'? That would be brilliant. Come on ICT

A positive thread for once 🙂 Wishing the team of Scott Kellacher & Billy Mckay a winning start to their Head coach / Assistant roles. Going to be tough ask to make up ground, but we have to get behind them and support like we have never supported before! Its not impossible.

Good luck to them, the players and everyone employed by Caley Thistle in these difficult times for the club. Let’s all get fully behind them. They’ve been thrown into such a situation through no fault of their own.Three points today would be a fantastic start.Regardless of today’s result and future on field results I think we need to remember it is good that we now have people running the club who have its best interests at heart.Let’s try and get back to the feelings about the club in Steve Paterson’s halcyon days.A nucleus of fine local players, a well set up attack minded team, consistently punching above our weight.Come on the Caley Jags!

Yes something positive after a week of doom and gloom we will get behind Scott a local lad and Billy who is near enough a local for a new beginning.

…gave us a well needed laugh though Scotty

I gave up listening to Duncs spiel and Dodd's..this was so refreshing. There were so many things he could blamed...but didn't. Well done Scott.

A long way to go yet Robert Like you I'm not giving up hope.

With Annan winning tonight, we’d have ended up bottom of the league on goal difference without the 15 point penalty. Anyone can beat anyone in this league. We now need to ensure we start beating everyone! As I said above, let’s not give up hope and get behind the team 100+% next week.

For all of his faults as a manager, there is absolutely no way a Duncan Ferguson side would be conceding 3 goals to Dumbarton, or to any team in this league for that matter!

Today would have been a bonus, albeit one we should have tried to take. Players didnt find out until literally Thursday if they had a job or not. Would have been hard to concentrate on the task at hand. The real work starts now. A full week or training, a new mindset (hopefully) and a slow steady progress ... we can but hope anyway. Otherwise, you are right, League 2 next year and a rebuild.

Yeah I think that tells us the story of how this season will pan out. A rebuild needed for next season in League Two.

First goal under the new management let’s hope there’s many more to follow

Having a pop-up restaurant franchise may or may not work. Look at something like Tiger on The Wall which started during covid and became very successful. Doing takeaway initially then sit in later when allowed. The Caley Club also have a similar setup where the restaurant pays X amount a month (presumably under some kind of rolling contract) to use the kitchen and serve food within certain times. The kitchen facilities at the club are at best used once a fortnight during the season, or at the moment not at all. So it seems reasonable to use that space to generate some income. No different than if we had a 4G surface as a pitch and let it out when not required. So long as there's no risk financially or reputationally to the club and it doesn't take up huge amounts of staff time to manage I don't see the harm in exploring it. The main issue with the Concert Company and BESS was that the board seemed to bank on these for the financial future of the club before it was guaranteed that they would be successful, causing a huge crisis when they have failed. I very much doubt that'll be an issue with renting out a kitchen space.

Can I have just the one T

Until Scott Gardiner initiates legal action.

How long are their contracts, is it a certain length or only until new owners are found 🤷? Tbh I actually hope it's the first one because that way it means they've been a success Tactics etc will also be interesting because Scott especially, has been first team coach under many managers including Terry Butcher so will have picked up a lot from these managers so let's hope he IS a success as manager

Go for it guys. We are at our best when the odds are against us and we can triumph in adversity. Time for our Highland spirit to come to the fore!

Coaching Statement: Following on from the announcement that Scott Kellacher is stepping up to Head Coach, the club can release a further update regarding the management team. Our Head Coach Scott Kellacher will be supported in his weekly coaching and on match days by Billy Mckay, club Head of Youth Ross Jack and Senior Academy coach Gordon Nicolson. We hope all supporters will rally round the team at this time, starting with tomorrow’s match against Dumbarton.

Massive disappointment in the end. So much positivity in the bar and in the stand, and the team were excellent first half, or maybe it just seemed that way after a year of sideways crab-like fitba. Great to see a team getting forward on both flanks. Hilton’s goal was pretty much Dumbarton’s only attacking effort of the half, completely against the run of play, but what a worldie giving Musa no chance, although he was allowed too much room to turn. The Sons started the second half much better and I always felt that if they scored first, they would win. One or two experienced pros such as Wallace and Carlo. They stuck to the basics, defended well without trying to be fancy, and hit us on the break. A couple of unforced errors cost us. ICT heads dropped at 2-1 and we never looked like coming back. Fantastic support today and great applause for the team at the end. Rather weird coming to a team with such a poor support when you are used to Championship crowds like Partick and the Pars. Hardly heard a sound when they scored. Big uphill task now.

At least our fans never did this 😂

Gutting result. Kinda feels like our fate is now sealed and the rest of the season will be a waste of time, with home attendances dwindling even further.

New management team, clean slate, fresh beginnings. Good luck lads, lets give Dumbarton a right good humping and start making up that points deficit!

HALF TIME: 1-1 No changes at the interval. Brett Long saved from Mckay's low shot five minutes after the restart and the defenders mopped up the loose ball. Dibaga again denied Hilton just before the hour. Ryan Blair edged the hosts ahead after a corner was recycled. Blair finished with a curling shot behind the keeper. Hilton had been causing problems and he notched his second of the game and Dumbarton's third after driving forward and shooting into the bottom corner. A late flurry of activity saw Remi Savage head over from a corner and Sons sub Mumbongo shooting narrowly wide. The last action had Long saving from Nolan as time ran away. FULL TIME: 3-1 Scott Kellacher's first game in charge ended in defeat at the Rock. Not the start we had hoped for but it was a big ask made even more difficult with Devine and Gilmour missing.

Apologies. Scot - one T with two LL's in BELLEND - got ya!

The only way is up, let's do this guys!

We’re not a Kelty based club, but we are a Glasgow club instead now!

Wasn't that the safety net?

It’s such a shame the Board didn’t accept an offer to buy the club. The club wouldn’t be in administration, jobs would have been kept and the club would be looking up. Of course if the new owners didn’t work out, then there would be an option of admin down the line, but instead of giving it a chance to see if it works, with the worst case end scenario being administration…. The club decided to jump straight to that. Almost as if they wanted it. Strange.

That’s what I had in mind RM and 2 others actually). It generated a cash sum that I’m sure dwarfs the various fees incurred in submitting the application. Regarding the concerts, we know that we rented the stadium out. No sums ever mentioned but I would guess at a good 5 figure sum. We also provided services to the concert company for providing staff and selling tickets etc, which I’m sure would have been at no less than cost, and probably a margin built in. So even though both projects could be deemed disastrous and regrettable for various reasons, it appears to me that the both generated money for the club. Sorry if that’s not what people want to hear!

We all knew about the 15 point deduction, but what I didn’t know until today is that it seems we will also start next season with a 5 point deduction.

let's keep the personal jabs out of this thread please. it's going to get pretty emotional, and tempers may flare as things unfold but please debate the topic NOT the poster. We will apply topic bans if people keep taking it off the rails to drop in petty personal jibes.

Woah woah woah Scotty. I know this is your site and all, but you can't be out hear calling Major League a crap movie. Anymore of that nonsense and I'll be having to come to Toronto to have some stern words. Some very stern words.

This is the objective link https://www.gov.uk/put-your-company-into-administration#:~:text=For as long as the,have or make employees redundant. Not sure if the application gets listed on the Court of Session rolls but as of today I see nothing listed. Happy Birthday Billy. Am sure this is one you will remember.

The location and mis-shaped construction of the stadium, is I would say, a major factor in the fan disengagement with the club. Put aside football results (success and failure are twins and come and go), the experience of most fans # I know attending matches is a negative one. # To a person any away fans (friends, family and general people), I spoke to over the years are bewildered and somewhat surprised at the standard and condition of the stadium. Match distraction with the view and noise of passing lorries and vehicles. Poor viewing (low rake angle ) from the away stand. No fan atmosphere whatsoever. Throw in the risk of chancing your luck crossing the A9, and building site conditions, well it’s not an easy sell. That’s all of the above based on a good summer’s day. Winter Saturday’s, well……. Having visited the refurbished club bar I can recommend that to all fans as the improvements make it more appealing, so credit there. I know the siting and construction of the stadium was driven by (limiting) fiscal constraints and it is what it is, and it ain’t going to change. Helps I know when you have a sugar daddy! Unfortunately, in my opinion (whether it’s liked or not), until something major is done regarding the stadium, the appeal to attract new fans (both home and away) to attend matches will remain a tough challenge.

The relationship that the club has with the city has been discussed many times. There are a multitude of factors working against the club that they cannot control and can do little about. These include the location of the stadium, the quality of the stadium (financially there's little we can afford to change), people supporting other teams and of course, after 30 years refusniks who are still greeting. There are things they have some control over like the catering, ticket prices, quality of performance on the pitch etc There are some things they can control more fully such as the way they treat the community, way they engage with businesses/sponsors, how they treat loyal fans, how they responsibly use money for the good of the club. Aside from the work of the Community Trust and I'd also say the Women’s team/Academy (who in the interests of transparency I'm on the committee of and coach for) which are both separate entities from the club, the club itself has done the grand total of fk all to try and reach out to the city in at least the last 5-6 years. There's been nothing in terms of even the simplest kid's fun days, Christmas parties, bowling nights, school visits, fan events, regular hospitality or even proper sponsor evenings. The club has to make an effort and with Scot Gardiner (and Yvonne Crook) at the helm the last half decade or so has undone much of the good work that others took years to try and develop. It won't be quickly turned around, particularly if the fayre on the pitch is woeful.

I'm afraid I agree with STFU on this one. The reality is that there are varying degrees of support for the club ranging from those who go to all the games they can, who buy a lot of merchandise and help behind the scenes, to those who want the team to do well but who rarely, if ever go to a game or buy any merchandise. There is absolutely no reason why somebody at the bottom end of this range of support should be expected to pay good money to watch poor quality football when they would rather be doing something else, or to buy merchandise they don't really want. To imply they have some sort of civic duty to do so will only alienate people and make it less likely they will spend money in the future. The challenge for those of us who put our hands in our pockets and support the team regularly is to persuade others that it is worth spending a bit more money on the club. We can't directly do much about the quality of the product on the pitch, but we can help to make the matchday experience a little better. An example of this is the work the Supporters Trust has done in making improvements to the bar. Having a bar which is open for longer hours, serves better beer and and is generally more welcoming will perhaps persuade a few more people to come to matches and those who already do, to spend a little more.

Quite understand, the ‘I don’t hate Ferguson’ twice was just for effect!!

I haven't enjoyed Big Duncs time in charge but it's decent of him to work without pay and I felt quite sorry for him in his Sportsound interview. Wish him all the best wherever he ends up.

Tbf we had 1 point when he was appointed. Granted he wasn't able to arrest the slide but Dodds had long since done the damage on the field. Is he a good manager? Not really. But it was 1 win from safety in the end. 🤷‍♂️ The stuff he's done in recent weeks like working for free. Also just read he's been paying for the players petrol and pitching in to hotels away from home. He might not be a great manager but he's been making some big sacrifices for the club where he shouldn't need to and deserves a lot of credit for that. Will be remembered fondly for that if anything.

Yes, prompted, I looked at other L1 teams attendances, and [not sure why I was shocked] only QotS gets four figure attendances, most of the others well under. Given the other potential income streams [which is b#gger all prize and TV money, small amounts of local sponsorship, hospitality, merchandise...we rarely get any fees from players moving on] it's hardly surprisely most teams are part-time [I presume the players get just a match fee], and since relegation from the Premiership, a full time Caley would always be struggling without a rich benefactor, or some non-football related scheme [which Caley seem to have tried but only made things worse] To put the numbers into context, I was at National League Sutton United today, and the attendance was 3,400. In my time as a Palace supporter we have diced with death several times, most recently in June 2010 when we were hours from being liquidated [we avoided relegation too despite a points deduction on the last day of the season] so this is not new territory for me [still horrible]. As ever I am hopefully that Caley will exist in some form, ideally when we are away to QotS in November, when I am booked to fly up!...I wonder what the team will look like.