Billy Dodds insists leading Caley Thistle to third in the Championship last season would have topped anything he’s achieved in his career.
The ex-Inverness manager, who has played for Scotland, Rangers, Aberdeen and Dundee United, was reflecting on his two-and-a-half years at the club, which ended when he was sacked in September after a winless opening nine games in all competitions.
Dodds’ side reached the Premiership play-off final in 2022 where they lost 6-2 on aggregate to St Johnstone, suffering a 4-0 loss in Perth in the second leg.
Last season, an injury-ravaged squad somehow gathered momentum at the right time to turn around a tricky spell of results and make a late push for the top-four.
It all came down to a final-night showdown against Ayr United in Inverness and the Honest Men edged to a 2-1 victory to finish second behind Dundee, pushing ICT down to sixth position.
Last-day loss against Ayr was sore
And the ex-Scotland striker, who along with Jim McIntyre won the League Cup in charge of Ross County in 2016, insists victory against Ayr on May 5 in a bid to land a second successive shot at promotion would have eclipsed anything else on his CV.
He said: “It was a great two-and-a-half years at Inverness including my time as an assistant.
“I don’t regret anything, other than not getting that last-day win against Ayr. I loved my time at Caley Thistle.
“Had we reached the top four last season, that would have trumped anything I would have personally achieved in football and that includes winning the League Cup with Ross County, being 45 minutes from the Premiership, or getting to the Scottish Cup final.
“If we had beaten Ayr to finish third, it would have topped the lot given the injuries we faced last season. And I mean anything I achieved as a player.
“We faced so much adversity – and I love it. As a player, coach, assistant manager or manager experienced anything like it. My players were dropping one by one.
“We even had to play our youth team against Hamilton in the SPFL Trust Trophy (in a 2-0 defeat). The challenging times were still good experiences for me.
“At times, we had 10 or 11 injuries to first-team players. Even bigger clubs, who are set up to handle an injury crisis, can’t cope with such levels. Teams in England struggle with so many out – I had a full first-team missing.”
No shocks as Morton come calling
Dodds, who last week tipped ICT to push for promotion via the play-offs under Duncan Ferguson, is looking for a return to a managerial, or assistant, role within Scottish football.
Along with providing commentary for BBC Radio Scotland, the ex-Scotland and Aberdeen striker keeps a keen eye on results across all divisions.
This Saturday, Caley Thistle host Morton just a couple of weeks after losing 2-1 to Dougie Imrie’s team at Cappielow, followed by a defeat of the same scoreline at home to Arbroath.
At the weekend, ICT drew 1-1 away to Partick Thistle, as the table stayed the way it was with five draws across the board.
Dodds explained Imrie and his former Ross County managerial colleague and friend Jim McIntyre have got their sides well-drilled for progression going into the New Year.
He added: “Morton and Arbroath play football in line with the personnel they’ve got. They don’t try to over-complicate it.
“I loved watching the way Ange Postcoglou’s Celtic played, but I would not ask players at Championship level to try to play that way, taking chances.
“Dougie Imrie and Jim McIntyre get their teams into the final third and play their football there, while taking no chances at the back.
“It’s no surprise that Dougie has turned Morton around after what was a hard spell for him.
“For Jim, it was a killer blow when they lost with the last kick against Raith Rovers recently, but it was no surprise to me that he came to Inverness and got a result because he’s so well organised.”
