Furious Caley Thistle could refuse to take on Morton on Saturday – if the Greenock club fail to solve the facilities ‘scandal’.
Inverness head coach Billy Dodds is still seething at his players and staff being put into portable units which had no heating or lighting when the generators failed in Tuesday’s Scottish Cup replay, which the Ton won 5-3 on penalties.
On Saturday, the sides meet at Cappielow again in the Championship and both clubs have differing views of the situation.
Morton say ICT rejected alternatives
In a report in the Greenock Telegraph today, Morton’s chief executive Chris Ross has hit back at the post-match blast from Dodds on Tuesday where he said the makeshift facilities were not fit for vermin.
Dodds explained a director waited behind to apologise after the third-round tie, stressing a gym would be made available to Inverness this weekend as long as the local council rubber-stamped its safety.
Caley Thistle, who are top of the league, are looking to put the disappointment of the cup loss behind them by earning the three points which would keep them in pole position.
Managerless Morton are locked on 13 points alongside Queen of the South and Dunfermline Athletic at the bottom end of the table, with their goal difference keeping them in eighth position.
Morton claims rejected by Dodds
The match itself, however, has been overshadowed by the war of words and Dodds wants assurances improvements have been made before ICT make the return trip to Inverclyde on Saturday.
He said: “I believe Morton’s general manager has been in touch with Scot Gardiner, our CEO. They are trying to throw it back on us, for some reason.
“If we go back down and it is not Covid-safe, there could be a problem.
“I can’t accept that and neither can our CEO, our chairman, our club.
“I understand they’ve tried to say they had offered us an alternative place to change, which is not the case.
“I spoke to one of the directors after the game and he apologised to me. What we had to go through just wasn’t acceptable.
“Win, lose or draw, I was going to say what I said because I was so irate. I’ve never seen facilities like that in my life. It was nothing short of disgusting.”
Dodds has left Ton in no doubt what will happen if the issues are not addressed before the sides meet again on Saturday.
He added: “I don’t know what’s going on, but if we go back down there and it’s not Covid-safe there will be an issue.
“There’s a chance the game won’t go on, simple as that. What else can I say? Would they expect us to accept those conditions?
“It was soaking wet. The upstairs portacabin was damp as well. It was cold.
“It is laughable. We’re professional footballers. Do the professional thing.”
Players used phones for bit of light
Dodds expanded on what he, his staff and players were faced with at Cappielow.
He said: “There were two portacabins, one on top of the other, in darkness – and I mean pitch black.
“We couldn’t risk the players using the steel stairs to go up to the top one.
“The staff went up there and the players had to all go into one portacabin because they could easily have fallen down the stairs. There was no lighting.
Ticket information for Saturday's match at home to Inverness CT is now available to view:https://t.co/cDCGgSHhU5 pic.twitter.com/D9Yh9epdFA
— Greenock Morton (@Morton_FC) December 9, 2021
“We’ve got video evidence of it. It was a health and safety hazard – just ridiculous.
“I go to do my team talk before the game and the lights go out. They get the generator back on after three minutes.
“At half-time, I’m in pitch black doing my team talk. Me and three or four of the players are using our phones downstairs.
“After the game, pitch black again – the generator has gone. Whoever has made the decision to put us there, it is a scandal.”
Physio couldn’t see injured duo
Skipper Sean Welsh came off with an ankle injury in the first half an hour and midfielder Aaron Doran also suffered a knock in the tie.
The Caley Jags boss explained, such were the conditions, they could not even be assessed properly until they were on the bus on the way back north.
When asked about the claim from Morton that alternative facilities were offered, Dodds insists it wasn’t put to him.
He added: “Not directly. There may have been a conversation during the game, but what good is that when the hazard has already happened?
“That was not put to me and I would probably have snapped their hands off. I don’t know who they were communicating with at that time.
“It’s a no-brainer and it shouldn’t happen. It was disgusting, freezing and damp. We accept in these Covid days that showers sometimes don’t happen but when the lights go out and you are standing in there freezing…
“We also got two injuries in the tie, Sean Welsh and Aaron Doran. My physio could not see them and diagnose what the problem is. It really was pitch black.
“They went back on the bus at full-time. There is a treatment table in the portacabin but my physio couldn’t see the actual injuries, it was a scandal. My kit man at the end didn’t know if he’d packed all the kit.”
