Inverness Caley Thistle legend Charlie Christie believes Championship return is possible within two years despite imminent administration in Highland capital
Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s interim chief executive officer Charlie Christie believes it is a realistic target to aim for a return to the Championship inside two years – despite the club being set to go into administration.
The Caley Jags have already signalled their intent to appoint administrators on Monday morning, with the papers due to be filed at 10am.
However, former player and manager Christie believes that will be the first step towards a brighter future for the Highland capital outfit.
Caley Thistle’s first priority will be staying in League One after being hit with a 15-point deduction, but if they can achieve that Christie sees no reason why they cannot start rising back through the Scottish football pyramid quickly.
“I think that the club will be healthier going forward,” he stressed at the ICT Supporters’ Trust’s open meeting ahead of their 1-0 win over Annan Athletic.
“I think we will stay up when everything is said and done, and once things are sorted out that would be a great achievement for the players in the dressing room.
“That would allow us to stay full time and restructure the football club, and I think it’s achievable for us to be back in the Championship within two years.
“We lack goals, and we lack pace in the wide areas. We need to change that, and that comes down to the recruitment process.
“I have been told by agents that dozens of players would love to come and play for the club for £400 a week in this league, if we remain full time.”
At the same meeting, Christie pledged to stay involved with ICT in one form or another – admitting he does not think the club requires a chief executive officer in the third tier.
“I was asked to come in by Alan Savage – I had no intentions of ever wanting to do this job, and I still don’t,” he explained.
“The way ahead, I don’t know, I will leave that up to other people. I don’t know if I have a role to play in that or not, we will see when the administrators come in on Monday.
“I don’t think this club needs a CEO in League One. My alternative is retiring to be honest, so I will still play some part in the club.
“Going forward I don’t know what that will evolve into, but what doesn’t sit well with me is how the football club has been run over the last five years.
“You can spend forever and a day looking at how we got into this mess. I quite liked a post-mortem as a player, but we can talk about that until we’re blue in the face, but I don’t know if that will achieve much.
“Growing up, I used to be that guy who wanted answers, and we know a lot of mistakes have been made.
“Losing money is nothing new to the club, but what has bothered me is the way we have treated people. To me, that’s more important than money.”