'I want to lead ICT again - for my son' - Caley Thistle captain Richie Foran on why he postponed retirement
A knee injury forced Foran to contemplate his own future but the desire to give his son a lasting memory, plus the advice of close friends and family, has persuaded him to carry on.
Foran accepts there may only be a bit-part playing role for him at Inverness now and there are no guarantees that because he is captain, he will instantly get back in the side. However, the inspirational skipper insists he is not ready to call it a career yet.
The desire to pull on the blue shirt again remains strong for the 35-year-old, who has made brief appearances this season against FC Astra and Dundee United. An injury to his other knee sent him back to the treatment room but Foran has returned to training and he featured in last week’s bounce game against Buckie Thistle.
Foran’s last start came in March last year against Dundee United and his three-year-old son Harris is too young to remember his father playing for the Caley Jags. The club captain wants desperately to change that.
“I want to lead the team out one more time because he’s at the age now where he will remember it,” said Foran. “That was a big factor in me deciding to stay on. He’s football daft – I’ll find him some days kicking a piece of paper round the house and he’s always asking when we are going down to the stadium. It’s the last push I needed, so he can see me on the park. It’s something both of us could keep with us forever.
“When I injured my other knee about six weeks ago, I was getting sick of the club’s medical bills getting higher and costing the club money. I felt I wasn’t giving enough back. But I spoke to the manager, chairman, Scott Kellacher and my wife and they all gave me a boost.
“They said to me that even if you play in one more game, that’s one more than you would have played in if you’d retired. Even if it’s just a place on the bench or 10 minutes at the end of a game, I accept that. There’ll be no knocking on the manager’s door and I’ll be working hard to prove myself.”
The target for Foran is to get a few Development League games under his belt before he declares himself ready to make a full return to the first team. He admits missing playing alongside “inspirational” figures like Gary Warren and Ross Draper and hopes he has inspired them the way they have for him.
Foran joined Caley Thistle in January 2009 and was Terry Butcher’s first addition as manager. He went to make over 150 appearances for the club and led them out in their first major final, the League Cup final defeat to Aberdeen last year.
One of the many things he has missed in his absence is the chance to work in-depth with manager John Hughes, who he believes is the best manager he has worked for. Seeing his team-mates improve over the last two years has him wondering what Hughes can do to his own game.
“Being on the sidelines, I haven’t had the chance to work with him,” added Foran. “It’s going to be a battle to get back into the side because I don’t know if I’m in the manager’s plans. It’s up to me to prove I can change my game and that I’m good enough to play for him.”
The Caley Thistle manager committed his future to the club this week by signing a new two-year deal, taking him through to the end of the 2017-18 season. Foran is in no doubt how big this news is for the Caley Jags.
“His coaching is the best I have had,” he said. “He’s about football 24/7 and is constantly trying to improve not just the players, but himself too.
“It’s fantastic to have him to learn from and he’s a great man, as well as a coach. Hopefully him signing up convinces one or two more to do so.”
His spare time has been filled by getting his coach badges and Foran recently received his UEFA B License, alongside six of his team-mates, and work on the A License course has begun immediately.
“You don’t know how long your body will hold up,” said Foran. “I’ll keep helping out Duncan Shearer with the Development League side but there’s still a couple more years in the old dog yet.”