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That was a brilliant performance. Arbroath had one attempt all game and we comfortably outplayed their first team. The atmosphere was good and Bar 94 after the game was jumping, particularly when Kel and the players came in. The drum and singing in the bar added to the atmosphere. I am delighted Billy McKay deservedly got the Man of the Match award as he was immense today. I hope he remains a player next season, but without the pressure of being our only striker. His comments on receiving his award were spot on, as were those from Danny Devine, Musa Dibaga, Remi Savage and James Nolan (apologies if I’ve missed anyone but it was very loud!). In a strange way, this feels as good as our Scottish Cup win, albeit for very different reasons. What a relief to have avoided any last day drama.

Morton or Montrose. They all smell the same to me.

A great result and for those on here who keep saying Billy McKay is finished what a performance from our record goalscorer this afternoon. He led the line brilliantly, scored a cracking goal and won the penalty.

Simply a perfect performance and result. Brilliant first goal, well constructed and finish. Crowd was fully behind the team and its effect in the team was evident. The place had an air of expectation that hasn’t been around for some time. Great to be present today and final word must go to Kells. Hope he enjoys the night. well done all round. bc

Got a good feeling about today....but if ever there was a time when the fans needed to be the 12th man, this is it.

Fixed it for you: Worth adding that we now have the best defensive record in League 1. Arbroath were best for most of the season but then Duncan Ferguson left!

Fabby day though disappointed it wasn’t 5 or 6. Crowd 2329 so grateful for the 29 providing the Maroon Pound

Well Done to ICTFC. This seasons main on field goal, apart from Surviving Admin, is achieved.

Thank you Dumbarton.

Bishbashbosh & big cherly, You both wax lyrical about the RC scouting and youth training schedules. Do you have any idea what the training set up is at your club ICT? Where the U11s & U12s are coached 3 times weekly in excellent facilities with fully qualified coaches? As are the U13s, U14s, U16s and U18s. I would also ask the both of you to name the last player from the RC Academy to start 20+ games for the first team in the past 10 years? Surely the ultimate proof of the pudding in a club’s academy system? Meanwhile I would give you - Polworth, Christie, Mackay, Macgregor, Harper, Bray and I have probably missed others. Doesn’t fit your agenda that RC are doing great on the youth development front whilst ICT lag behind but you both may prove me wrong.

4 games against Arbroath this season (including league cup) and we haven’t laid a glove on them. Lost them all and we haven’t even scored a single goal. The margin of defeat also grew each time. Since the last match our form has deteriorated and we’ve lost key players. ICT to win!

Great stuff today, looking forward to next season already. Let's hope we can keep most of the squad together and keep moving forward . Special mention to the on loan players who unlike last season, really looked like they enjoyed playing up here and whose contribution was invaluable.

Worth adding that we now have the best defensive record in League 1. Arbroath were best for most of the season but then they conceded 3 today!

Hardly a sideways pass today, we looked to get forward at every opportunity and fully deserved the win. Where has that Billy Mckay been hiding all season? I haven’t a clue how we played or what happened in the last half hour of the game, was too busy refreshing my phone every 10secs to see the Annan score! Today was a good day

This is our biggest achievement since winning the cup, especially when you consider how it was achieved so I hope Mr Moodie and the supporters trust enjoy the staying up party now!! I've never been emotional about certain results, even the first relegation under Tel way back but tonight is the exception because I'm just so proud of the effort put in to get to this point!!

He's simply a , not worthy of being included in the discussion anymore.

I've never been one for celebrating survival as I'm a firm believer that you're there for a footballing reason and it's not something to celebrate however this one is different, so much more riding on it and the two biggest cheers of the season in our house came when Dumbarton went 1 up then 2 up. Fantastic achievement for the players and staff, to rally after going into admin, deal with the cuts, the disappointment, the furore surrounding the club and turn in a points tally that they have since going into admin is superb. If I'm correct, three teams didn't achieve that points tally over the whole season, maybe four. Whether we're full time or not doesn't matter as you can only deal with what's in front of you, even to pick themselves up from disappointing results and bounce back shows a big element of resilience and I can't applaud them enough. Simply superb

Didn't see that performance coming. Two superb goals and a luckily scored penalty but we're due some luck. Good all over the park today with no stupid defensive errors. Not sure if the defence was really really good or it was because Arbroath were so poor. Don't think they actually had a shot on target but who cares, we won. Crowd were good today although I, personally, thought we should have had a bigger crowd attend for this. As usual,referee was hopeless, booked Strachan for a nothing foul yet failed to book Devine for a poor challenge, failed to book the Arbroath number 5 for a cynical foul on Bray and a tackle on Strachan should have been a booking as well as it was a dangerous tackle.

Wonderful, well done boys, keep it up. Dumbarton doing us a favour too. Happy days.

...and Billy Mckay obliges.

Fantastic first half for us.

I don't think I've ever been so nervous before a football match....and I won't even be there. Hopefully this group of lads will be fired up for this one. I sincerely hope the home support put in an away performance and get right behind these lads. Support, NOT booing, is all important today. I was sorry to hear of the passing of Wayne and send sincere condolences to his family and friends. Big Stew gave us so many happy times when we were up for a game. Such a great guy who is sadly missed. The memories will never die. Come on ICT.

ICT are officially staying up. Now to get out of Administration and rebuild in the summer

Massive Game We have talked about big games before, but this one is absolutely huge in the thirty year history of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Only two games left of the regular season and we still need to ensure we avoid the dreaded relegation play-offs. We face Arbroath at home on Saturday and then make the trip to Montrose the week after and these two games could determine our fate. Musa Dibaga is out for the last couple of games as is Alfie Bavidge. Luis Longstaff returned after injury last week and played half a game. Prior to the game, and three years on from his passing, a few of us will be raising a glass to remember Big Stew in the Innes Bar from 1:00pm. Pop in to say hello and share some stories with us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Match/Ticket/Bus/Bar94/Info Hospitality Available Bring a friend for £5 ICTFC PotY VOTING Wayne Addicoat RIP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sad news released by the club today to announce that former player Wayne Addicoat has passed away at just 45 years of age RIP Wayne His passing will be acknowledged with a minutes applause ahead of kick off against Arbroath. Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC are saddened to hear of the recent passing of former player Wayne Addicoat at 45 years-old. Wayne played for the club from July 1996 until May 1999, making 54 appearances and scoring 4 goals. The club send its condolences to Wayne’s family at this sad time and we will be holding a minute’s applause before this Saturday’s match against Arbroath. Four meetings already this season and we have yet to win one. Closest we came was in the League cup game that ended goalless with Arbroath winning the bonus point after the penalty shoot-out. 2025 Apr 26th League (League 1) ? - ? H - Feb 8th League (League 1) 0 - 3 A 1,500 2024 Dec 14th League (League 1) 0 - 2 H 1,531 Oct 5th League (League 1) 0 - 1 A 1,381 Jul 23rd League Cup (Group D) p 0 - 0 H 754 Final quarter of the season: W L D L W L D ? ? Forget the rest of the season; it's what happens over the next two games that will define our season. As well as we have done to give ourselves the chance to stay in this division, we have faltered over the last few games with injuries, suspensions and administration taking it's toll on the squad. Only the two wins in this last phase, but both were emphatic. A 4-1 win in the re-arranged game at home to Stenhousemuir and a brilliant 3-0 win at Cove. A disappointing home defeat to Annan was followed by another disappointing home draw against Alloa. It got worse the week after as QotS battered us 4-1 and following the win at Cove, Kelty dumped us 0-2 in the Highlands, another three points lost. We almost pulled off a good result away to Stenhousemuir last Saturday but a 91st minute own goal left us with just a point after Billy Mckay had scored his first goal for three months earlier in the second half. Thems the breaks, as disappointing as they are. With three minutes to go, we were sitting in 7th place in the table until Montrose equalised against Dumbarton and Stenny levelled with us. Looks like we will be without big Musa again so I for one won't be holding my breath. I believe we are hopeful of acquiring Marcus Gill again. I also doubt very much that Arbroath will be sending up a second string starting XI this weekend like they did last week at Annan. They would have been as well not turning up instead of the embarrassing 5-1 defeat they were dished out by a team with a goal difference of minus 23, the worst in League1. Scott Kellacher does not want to make anything of this, however, I'm happy to do it for him. Meh! Kelty are at Cove, Montrose are at Alloa and Annan are at Dumbarton. All tricky away ties at this stage of the season. Pos Team Pld Gd Pts 1 Smokies 34 19 63 2 Cove 34 16 53 3 Queen Sth 34 3 51 4 Stenny 34 4 50 5 Alloa Ath 34 8 48 6 Montrose 34 -6 40 7 Kelty 34 -7 40 8 Caley Jags 34 2 37 9 Annan Ath 34 -23 36 10 Sons 34 -16 17 Last Six: D D W W W L The two draws were both 1-1 against Dumbarton (h) and Kelty (a). Three wins on the bounce v Cove (1-0), Montrose (0-1) and the title winning defeat of Stenhousemuir (4-0). Last week was the embarrassing loss to Annan at Galabank where they made seven changes to their line up and were thrashed 5-1 by Annan. It goes against the grain to be honest especially as they can still influence relegation places by their bringing the game into disrepute tactic. It's certainly not in the spirit of things and unless they field half a team this week then it smacks of dishonesty. When you leave players out with the quality of Fraser Taylor, Scott Stewart, Sam Stanton, Ryan Dow, Tam O'Brien, Aidan McAdams...... yer havin a laff guys. Remembering Stewart Anderson who sadly is no longer with us having departed three years ago on 13th April 2022 aged just 52. A few friends of 'Big Stew' will be remembering the Big Man and having a peedie dram in his absence before the Smokies game. Join us if you like as we reminisce about better times ahead of kick-off and fondly get the craic with Big Stew in the Innes Bar from 1:00pm onward. Many a pre-match aperitif was had with Stewart before heading to the game with ample shouting juice absorbed into the body and boarding the taxi at four minutes to three (and still making kick-off). As you can see, this painting was done by Stewart's brother, Blair. What a fantastic instantly recognisable image that captures the energy and passion, and epitomises this Gentle Giant of a character. Cheers Stewart, missed by many Slàinte Mhath Here's the new barman sampling some of the wares in what could be described as a 'lock in' back in the day. Never one to shirk a challenge Stewart could easily demolish a peedie dram or equally a 31/2 pint tumbler of the black stuff in one go. A gentleman and a scholar who will be forever in our thoughts. I'm not sure what he would have thought about the current situation the club finds itself in, but I bet he would have had a few choice words for those that have contributed to our demise. More pics to follow once preview posted.

Me too with grandson and his pall and when we got there there were no hot dogs left only Kit-kat's, cheap day for granda It was a crunch match and we certainly 'crunched' them. Great game, great support, great result and well done to all the team and staff today

Good performance and great result today. Billy was inspirational today I’m over the moon for him.

For those not there: Fans Awards: Musa Dibaga and Keith Bray. Players Awards: Charlie Gilmour and Keith Bray. Well deserved.

To all of our supporters not at the game, this is what happens when a fully grown man gets too excited....

Large drams all round fantastic effort, well done to all involved!

…and breath!

Make it 3-1

Superb 3-0 win, well done ICT.

2-0 up at half-time. Arbroath manager will be raging at them right now so they'll be looking for a fightback. Have to say though, if we don't see this one out we deserve to go down!

Today is where we see Kells handle the setbacks and get a result even with a very weakened team. Cmon Caley Jags. We can win everything with kids.

There should be a decent crowd there today. Let’s all get behind every player from start to finish and help inspire them to get the result we all want and need. Dumbarton can do us a favour but we can’t rely on that. It’s in our own hands and we can do it.

I'm sure the team will get out there and do their very best today. it would be fantastic if both sets of results allowed us to secure safety today. Enjoy the game everyone - this team has really pulled out the stops this season and they deserve a party at the last home game. You are amazing, titanium, and unbeeelievably good boys! Thank you for turning what we thought was going to be an awful year into an entertaining fab one. C'mon Caley

This whole discussion about the academy has been had time and again with many, including me, harbouring romantic notions of a system that churns out enough players to make up the majority of a first team squad. The number of things that need to align to make that happen on any consistent basis is impossible. We hit a bit of a sweet spot between about 2010 and 2015 when a number if our best prospects came through from the academy to be solid first team players, and the club had the means to stop them being instantly drawn away by those willing/able to offer better deals....and that's the crux of it. We don't have the resources to hold onto the best of our academy, heck we don't have the draw or resources to keep a good few talented players IN the academy, with them being poached by other clubs. For a club of our means, we probably get a better return than many others from our academy, but it's highly unlikely it will ever provide a positive financial return. It's not a problem with how we run things, the quality of the coaching, or the availability of talent. It's that the whole player development system in this country (and many others) is flawed. That's not to say that I think it should be scrapped. There are social/community benefits beyond the £ signs that are important. However, it's delusional to think that an extra £100/£200k per year is going to turn it into a reliable source of players (who will stay here) or income for the club. As a slight aside, I also find it rather uncomfortable to be talking about kids as if they are a tradable asset, and the academy being a means to exploit that.

With Charlie as CEO and Savage in the hot seat, I think youth will once again regain and perhaps surpass its former position at ICT and that is a great thing as it will mean we not only develop local talent, but we also might just make a few quid when they go on to bigger things. Savage was prepared to fund/subsidise the youth system even when the previous CEO was still in place so I think that tells you how important it is to him and Charlie is a believer too especially as his own son came through it and look at how successful Ryan has been in recent years. Arguably the single most successful ICT player ever. With them at the helm, I am sure it is in safe hands and will hopefully go on an upward trend to further success. That success rubs off on other youth who want to be the next Ryan Christie, Cammy Harper or Keith Bray. If they see that the youth system gives them a pathway to professional football and they see that the club are once again interested in taking it seriously, then that in itself attracts youngsters and the process slowly builds momentum. Its not instant and thats where I think we all get impatient. It could take 10 years or more to get another decent crop of youngsters ... Sounds like ICT are doing their part with training 3 times per week and qualified coaches so here's hoping it pays off for us. As an aside - My own son is going through the Canadian equivalent at his club, training 3 nights a week, all year round (indoors in winter, outdoors again starting next week) and playing a competitive game on the weekend in either tier 1, 2 or 3. He started at tier 3, which is entry level for those selected for the competitive program, worked his way into the tier 2 team where he is now one of two or three rotating captains, and is knocking on the door of a regular spot in the tier 1 (elite) team for his age group (U12) after coming in to cover injuries and absences over winter. He has reached that level because he wants to do it but also because he has good professional coaches and a structure in place to develop youth. From U14 he hopes to get selected for the elite province wide system called OPDL which sees every club follow the same training processes (Ontario Professional Development League) and then onwards to Canada wide programs. All so he can realise his dream of emulating Ryan Christie in a Scotland shirt one day! Although he wants the #3 shirt. All that inspiration came from meeting Ryan at the stadium, training with the players on an open day and being mascot one time ...

Nothing has changed then Looking forward to commemorating the big man and it just happens to be my 500th ICT game.

I think we can close this thread now

"If we get a 15-point deduction, we are not going to be able to stay in the division unless we probably win every game and every other teams loses every game. "It would be a nearly impossible task. One we would try to overcome and win games, but if administrator comes in and cuts the squad, which I think he would do, it would really be a tough ask. "The 15-point deduction would more than certainly relegate us."

Annan getting humped by Dumbarton. We're 5 minutes from safety!

Dumbarton-Annan match has play suspended due to a fire alarm. 1-1 with 20 minutes still to be played, assuming they can restart. Edit - they have restarted and Dumbarton go 2-1 up. Unless Annan come back to win we are safe! Edit edit - 3-1 now!

Won't be there today, but good luck to the Caley Jags

The supporter trust said: Bar 94 open from 12 as always! Got a few items for auction tomorrow and we are expecting a busy one so get down early and secure a seat! Don’t forget that Stagecoach run buses at 1pm and 2:15pm from the centre and will take you back ten minutes after full time or at 6pm. Come down and enjoy a pint of @DogFalls before pushing the boys on the park for a big performance!

The big pint Wet the head A few blasts from the past...

From P&J fan page Seven goalkeepers used this season Kellacher confirmed that a hamstring tear has ended Dibaga’s season. The Spaniard, who is out of contract this summer, may well have played his last ICT game after being injured last week. Against Stenny, 17-year-old Celtic goalkeeper Marcus Gill played as part of a one-week loan move. Kellacher added: “Musa has torn his hamstring and will be out for two to three months. We will now see if he has to go for surgery. “This season, we have gone through seven goalkeepers including loanees helping us out. “It’s a sore one for Musa, who has had a great season. We’ve had a lot of injuries at the wrong time. “We will consider our options for next week and whether Marcus can come back. Celtic, who loaned Aidan Rice to us this year, have been a great help.” Jack Newman Musa Dibaga Martin Mackinnon Corey Paterson Szymon Rebilas Aidan Rice Marcus Gill

This popped up this morning, wish I had seen it when we were discussing the kelty game. He must have read my post.

Club media went the same way as everything else over the last 6 or 7 years. Highlights have become sporadic and quality is atrocious even when we do get them. Hopefully it is one of the things on Alan Savage's list to be looked at.

Sour grapes