Caley Thistle have confirmed manager John Robertson will be staying put after being approached by Championship rivals Dundee.
Inverness claimed in a statement that Robertson was approached directly by the Dark Blues on Saturday without the Highlanders’ knowledge, before the Caley Jags boss informed chief executive Scot Gardiner he would not be interested in the post. Robertson is under contract at Inverness until 2021.
After receiving formal contact from Dundee on Sunday, Caley Jags rejected the approach and insist that although it is testament to the job Robertson has done at Caledonian Stadium, the Inverness boss is “here to build a promotion winning side.”
The Dens Park job is currently vacant after the sacking of Jim McIntyre following the club’s relegation from the top-flight. Dundee had earlier this week issued an update on their managerial search, confirming some of the candidates to replace McIntyre are currently under contract at other clubs.
Caley Thistle’s statement said: “The club can confirm that manager John Robertson was directly approached by Dundee FC on Saturday evening. Within minutes of this approach, John notified the club and confirmed to our CEO that he had no desire or intention to speak to Dundee FC about their vacant managerial position.
“He did not reply to, nor acknowledge this approach. To be 100% clear, this approach from Dundee FC was entirely unsolicited and given that it was less than 24 hours after a draining Premiership play-off semi-final defeat, entirely unwelcome.
“The club itself was not formally contacted by Dundee FC until late Sunday afternoon, when a senior member of our club staff was spoken to by the DFC club secretary. Following this phone call, he received an e-mail formally asking for permission to speak to John with regards the vacant managerial position at Dens Park.
“The member of staff contacted our CEO immediately, at which point and with knowledge of the previous day’s direct approach, he immediately contacted and denied DFC permission to have any further contact with our manager.”
