2025/26 Squad

[Robert]

Billy was reborn in the last three games.

He (undeservedly IMHO) too some stick during his barren spell, but his influence on the younger players and his craft and guile cannot be understated.

He didn’t expect to be playing 90 minutes most weeks, but the release of Brooks and injury to Bavidge forced it. Cairns was our only option and his departure indicates that he is maybe not ready for this level.

Credit to Billy, he never hid.

Next season, I hope we have a striker, signed or on loan, who can really take the weight off, so Billy is under less pressure.

Is Keogh not a striker rather than a midfielder?

If we lose Musa, bringing Gill back on loan could be a good option if he and Celtic are agreeable.

I’m delighted to see the short term deals offered to Nicolson, Davidson and Corner. To me, that shows we’ve learned from how the likes of Walsh, Sutherland and Doran were treated, and want to give players every chance to get rehabilitated.

Another welcome change by the new regime  

 

Edited May 16 by Robert

[ICTPaisley]

14 minutes ago, Robert said:

 

Is Keogh not a striker rather than a midfielder?

 

Hopefully has better shooting boots than his father. I seem to remember him taking an eternity to get his first goal for us.
 

Clyde made up for that though! 

[IBM]

On 5/16/2025 at 10:41 AM, CELTIC1CALEY3 said:

Jake Davidson?

Jake along with Lewis Nicolson and Ben Corner have been offered deals until January 2026 to allow them to continue with rehab and hopefully return to match play according to Charlie Christie. This is a huge positive from the club in relation to what’s happened with injured players previously. 

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Pleased for Jake and Ben but especially for Lewis. He has been remarkably positive throughout the period of his injuries and it will be an inspiration to see him back on the park for the Club.

[RiG]

On 5/15/2025 at 3:16 PM, mazza20 said:

The way Musas agent spoke, it sounded like he'd prefer to stay and get games at us then take a big offer and be a backup so fingers crossed.

That was nothing more than a carrot dangled to ICT fans giving hope he might stay for a bit longer.

[+Moogthurso]

I cannot blame any of the players like Remi or musa if they find a better contract somewhere else. 

They have ability above league 1. 

But if they are settled, if we can match their ambitions with a league 1 win this year and a push the following year  then maybe they could stay to enjoy the journey. 

Especially if we add release clauses that lets them move when great offers come in.

 

[tm4tj]

 

The club can announce that defender Lewis Nicolson has taken the decision to step away from football. 

Lewis, 21 years-old, has suffered two serious knee injuries during his time with the club and has now decided to pursue career opportunities elsewhere. 

"“Over the past two years I have struggled to return from injury, but through this period everyone at the club, the fans and my sponsors have been incredibly supportive. It has been such a difficult decision to step away from football but with the scare of this second injury and after three knee operations, I have decided to prioritise long term health. I look forward to being a fan once again by supporting the players and management going into next season.”

All the best for the future Lewis from all at CTO. You have put a lot of time and effort into your football career but your long term health is more important. It's disappointing for you but maybe a new beginning is just round the corner.

 

[+CaleyD]

Never good to see a player have to step away from the game due to injuries.  Hopefully it doesn't hinder him in any other aspect of his life and he can go on to have a successful career in something else.

[Yngwie]

Such a shame. I thought he showed great promise and would have been a first team regular had it not been for those awful injuries..

[tm4tj]

 

Start video at 4:57 for Lewis' stunning goal 

 

Full Name:	Lewis Nicolson
Born:	May 4th, 2004 (Inverness)
Height:	178
Position:	Left back
Signed:	June 10th, 2021
First Manager:	Billy Dodds
Career Stats:	11 appearances, 2 goals
Debut  (sub):	January 29th, 2022 - Kilmarnock 1 - 0 Inverness CT (Championship)
Full Debut:	July 15th, 2023 - 2 - 1 Bonnyrigg Rose (League Cup - Group E)
First Goal:	February 19th, 2022 - Inverness CT 1 - 2 Ayr United (Championship)
Also Played For:	Elgin City

Goals Scored

Feb 19th, 2022	League	(H)	vs. Ayr United	1 - 2	(86')
Jan 7th, 2023	League	(A)	vs. Arbroath	4 - 1	(86')

 

The last goal was the icing on the cake when substitute Lewis Nicolson nudged a header back across the six yard box and into an unguarded net. Mckay and then Steven Boyd combined to set up the chance which Lewis executed exquisitely, his second goal for the club.

Both his goals were scored in the 86th minute. (lucky number for you Lewis?)

[+Moogthurso]

Very sad to see Lewis career be halted by these injuries.

I think he had great talent but your body can only take so many knocks. 

I hope the caley thistle wider community are helping him with those career opportunities in any way they can. 

[Robert]

This news is really sad.

He’s a genuinely nice guy and it’s so disappointing that injuries have stopped him reaching the potential he undoubtedly had.

I hope he does well in whatever the future holds for him. 

[caleyb]

I am really disappointed to hear this news. I taught Lewis in various classes and a more genuine guy you would struggle to find. I spoke to him at the last game of the season and he was quite upbeat about a return. Gutted for him.Best wishes for the future.

[Scotty]

Hopefully he may be able to be involved in football in some capacity if that's his aim.

My son's football team over here has a couple of coaches who had to quit the game through injury, one who played in Germany and the other here in Canada. They cannot play competitively but can still do coaching, technique, tactics etc. One has also founded his own academy as a side gig similar to what ex-players sometimes do on both sides of the pond. Also, let's not forget ICT legend Pele Paterson, whose playing career ended through injury too. He went on to be pretty successful as our manager   

[+CaleyHedgehog]

So sorry to hear this news about Lewis. A really lovely lad who I'm sure would have done well in the adult game if he hadn't been injured. 

He must be devastated, but hopefully coming to this decision himself, will help him to come to terms with it all. I also feel confident that he will be a definite asset in whatever career he decides to go for, and know that any employer would be lucky to have Lewis on the payroll.

Best of luck Lewis - see you on the terraces.

[The Mantis]

Always hoped Lewis would get over his injuries and get a regular start for us, probably at least as good as Cammy Harper. First set eyes on him when we reached the semi-final of the Scottish Youth Cup and were narrowly beaten by Hearts. He was a stand-out.

[CELTIC1CALEY3]

Lewis has retained a smile on his face throughout his injury torment. Being so positive bodes well for him in the future. 

[Yngwie]

On 5/20/2025 at 7:25 AM, RiG said:

That was nothing more than a carrot dangled to ICT fans giving hope he might stay for a bit longer.

Now confirmed Musa has rejected our offer to stay.

[+TheCaleyOne]

I really hoped he would have another season here, did well and seemed a really nice guy. Hope for him he won't just end up on the bench wherever he goes next, wish him all the best.

[Robert]

Ben Corner has accepted the six month deal offered to help him with his recuperation. 

[+Moogthurso]

Really concerned about goalkeeper currently. 

It was amazing to get Musa last year hope we can get someone as good.

[Scotty]

13 minutes ago, Moogthurso said:

Really concerned about goalkeeper currently. 

It was amazing to get Musa last year hope we can get someone as good.

Jack Newman's contract is expiring at DUFC according to TransferMarkt. Might be worth a shout? 

[+Moogthurso]

I have to trust our recruitment and the contacts we have across the game. 

I think our informal contacts might be our biggest asset.

Edited May 28 by Moogthurso
Autocorrect

[Scotty]

39 minutes ago, Moogthurso said:

I have to trust our recruitment and the contacts we have across the game. 

I think our informal contacts might be our biggest access.

Agree. The contacts that Charlie, Kells or others at the club have can be invaluable.

However, how we treat other clubs and the players themselves has a huge impact too. We were sh1t at that more recently, and everyone has seen or read about how we treated Shane Sutherland, or Aaron Doran, or how we didn't pay other clubs for loan fees etc.

I would like to think that we are now starting to rebuild that - seeing that the club are offering short-term contracts to players recovering from injury, and also the news that operations were paid for is a great sign. The crop of loanees that Kells had after administration also seemed to sing the praises of the club so hopefully clubs that the previous regime burned in the past can see we are back on the rails in how we deal with players and other teams.  

[CaleyTennis85]

7 hours ago, Scotty said:

Jack Newman's contract is expiring at DUFC according to TransferMarkt. Might be worth a shout? 

I would rather either of the Celtic GKs we had to Jack Newman tbh but maybe Charlie Christie, Kells and co will find us another gem or top quality GK .