Caley Thistle manager John Robertson has urged the SPFL to put the safety of Brechin City’s staff and supporters first in deciding whether tomorrow’s Championship match goes ahead.
The Caledonian Stadium surface is playable, with the worst of the wintry weather having avoided Inverness, however concern remains over travel conditions further south in the country.
With 10 SPFL matches having been called off yesterday, Robertson insists any element of doubt over the safety for tomorrow’s visitors should result in an early postponement.
Robertson said: “Our central heating has gone on, and there is no snow in Inverness, but when we look at the rest of the country it looks horrendous. We seem to have been very lucky this time and got away with it.
“We will have to wait now and see what the situation is as regards travel.
“There is nothing wrong with the pitch and the A9 is open at the moment. I think the biggest problem for anybody is getting from anywhere to Perth.
“From Perth upwards it seems to be clear and fine, but from Perth south it’s absolutely horrendous.
“Our thoughts are for the safety of everybody. We are totally sympathetic in regards to Brechin City and their players coming north – their safety must come first.
“We do it every week, and in a situation like this the travelling the Brechin City players, officials and fans are utmost because if the weather stays as bad as it is we wouldn’t expect them to travel.
“If the weather is as bad on Friday and Saturday, we would not expect Brechin City to travel – we wouldn’t want them to travel.
“If there’s a red warning of danger to life, we don’t want anybody travelling when they don’t have to.”
Caley Jags encountered travel chaos of their own earlier in the season, when they were held up for around seven hours by an accident on the A9 near Killiecrankie the night before their game against Queen of the South in Dumfries on December 2.
A request to have the game postponed was turned down by SPFL operations director Ian Blair, and Robertson wants to ensure other teams avoid similar issues, adding: “Our decision fell under exceptional circumstances. As we have said before, whether it’s snow or an accident, there can be problems.
“At the end of the day, if you’re stuck on any road for any reason, for any length of time, there has to be a sympathetic view.
“Nobody at the SPFL is going to put people’s lives at risk or in danger – we said at the time, had the accident not moved by midnight we were heading home regardless of the situation.
“But we wouldn’t want anybody to be put into the situation we were put in.”
