Caley Thistle find themselves in the most horrendous of Catch-22 situations.
In a week where the club should be focusing on a Scottish Cup quarter-final against Kilmarnock all the talk has been on financial rather than football matters.
But there is little doubt both are intrinsically linked at Caledonian Stadium.
Relegation to the second tier of Scottish football in 2017 has been a costly exercise for the Highlanders on and off the pitch.
The latest annual accounts for last season were released last week and they make for grim viewing.
A loss before tax of £835,751 takes the combined losses at the club to the £3 million mark for the past five years.
With assets of £462,000 and liabilities of £1,715,000, it should come as little surprise to read notes from the auditors in the accounts stating there is “a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Absence from Premiership has hit Inverness hard
These are worrying times for the club and chairman Ross Morrison has admitted as much.
From punching above their weight all the way to Scottish Cup winners to treading water makes for a worrying turn of events.
Covid has not helped the financial situation of course but it does feel, without wishing to put additional pressure on Billy Dodds and his players, that the cup quarter-final has become a vital fixture.
Six years of football in the Championship has hit the club’s coffers hard.
In the club’s last season in the Premiership in 2016-17, they averaged 3,946 for home games.
This season’s average is 1,966.
A tailing off of some home support is to be expected but it is the lack of income from away supporters which really impacts the club.
Clearly, that’s an awful lot of money on a fornightly basis no longer coming into the bank account.
Promotion challenge becoming greater every season
All the while, the need to get back to the Premiership grows in importance.
The mounting losses means less investment in the team and a smaller squad.
The result is a steeper hill to climb every season and right now that hill is in danger of becoming a mountain.
Inverness were 45 minutes from winning promotion via the play-offs last season.
Right now they are in the bottom half of the table and have it all to do in the remaining games if they are to make the play-offs again.
But all thoughts of promotion will be on hold in the Inverness board room this week. The directors will be more focused on pounds.
Hampden return would be welcome boost for the Highlanders
The stakes have seldom been higher for Caley Jags as they prepare to face Derek McInnes’ Killie this week at Caledonian Stadium.
Inverness made the most of their second bite at the Scottish Cup after being reinstated in the competition due to an administrative error from Queen’s Park who fielded an ineligible player in their win against Dodds’ men earlier in the competition.
This week’s victory
Caley Thistle’s reprieve led to them beating Premiership side Livingston 3-0 in the last round.
Victory this week sets them on a trip to Hampden. Another cup final appearance would be fantastic for the club but just getting to the final four would be significant.
There will be further losses this season, that much is clear, but they can be mitigated somewhat by a trip to Hampden.
Gate receipts are pooled and split four ways between the competing semi-finalists.
Forget silverware for a second. This would be a huge cash windfall just when Caley Thistle need it most.
No pressure lads.
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