Caley Thistle chairman Ross Morrison says the club has already been pledged half of the £500,000 hole needed to stabilise the Highlanders’ finances.
Morrison and chief executive Scot Gardiner last night addressed supporters at a public meeting held at Inverness Caledonian Thistle social club, which followed on from last Thursday’s extraordinary general meeting to shareholders.
With a projected loss of £872,000 for the 12 months up to May this year, Caley Jags are keen to secure fresh investment and new directors, with Morrison joined by just Gordon Fyfe and Liam Dalgarno on the board at present.
Morrison revealed progress has been made in securing the necessary funds, and he said: “The EGM was needed because the club was going towards a cliff edge. We have a hole of around £500,000 we need to fill which we identified six or seven weeks ago, and myself and Scot Gardiner have been talking to people that have said before they would help the club.
“We have already been pledged £250,000 of it, and we are well on our way to the other £250,000. We are reasonably confident, but we are not there yet.
“It’s a better situation now than it was before the EGM.”
Gardiner spoke of some of the club’s plans to increase revenues through maximising use of Caledonian Stadium which they now have ownership of.
Gardiner revealed the club is working on plans to use parts of the ground and car park area for concerts, with talks ongoing regarding two events next summer.
Gardiner feels the club must stamp its footprint on the city in order to address a “disconnect” he has sensed since taking up his role in April.
Gardiner said: “Inverness is one of the fastest growing cities in the United Kingdom, but there is no mark of the football club around the city. It came as quite a shock to me.
“We have got to change this, we need to reengage the club with the city because there is a disconnect between the supporters and the club.”
Gardiner also outlined 63 criteria the club must meet in order to be qualify for the Scottish FA’s Project Brave second “progressive” tier, which has amounted to a £485,000 spend on the club’s youth setup.
Caley Jags manager John Robertson insists he has had no problem keeping his squad calm amidst speculation over the club’s finances.
Robertson said: “It has not affected us. We told the players to forget the noise from outside.
“I speak to Scot every day, and at no stage were we looking at administration or anything like that.
“We told the players not to panic. The headline made it look like we were terminal, but it’s not the case. We are alive and kicking and will be for many years.”
