Inverness Caley Thistle is looking to change its pathway from youth players as club looks to benefit from the young talent financially as well as on the pitch
INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle says it is looking to change the pathway for its youth players in a bid to improve the club financially as well as on the pitch.
Interim chief executive Charlie Christie says the club’s youth players have to show more to prove they are worthy of a place in the Caley Thistle first team.
He says if they do, they will get their opportunity to show it with the club this season and possibly give themselves the opportunity of attracting clubs at a higher level, which could also help Caley Thistle with potential transfer fees.
In Caley Thistle’s match against Montrose on Saturday, Keith Bray was the only player that came through the club’s youth academy that was in the starting line-up.
However, the substitutes bench did have a number of academy graduates which included Ethan Cairns, Calum Macleod, Shae Keogh, Matthew Strachan, Szymon Rebilas and Robbie Thompson.
Speaking at the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Supporters Trust meeting last Saturday, Christie said while there may be calls to give more young players a chance, Christie says it is up to the youngsters themselves to prove they are good enough for a place in the starting line-up.
He said: “Myself and Scott Kellacher have had the local players in to say that they need to show more.
“Fans say that we need to play more homegrown players, but they need to grasp the nettle. They have to take the opportunity.
“Apart from their parents, I want these boys to play for the team more than anyone. They come through our academy and more importantly they are potentially sellable assets to the club.
“What we will do from July is we need to change the way we do things for players between 16 and 19.”
Christie says it is a problem throughout Scottish football that there are not enough Scottish youngsters breaking through into their first teams, which includes in the Premiership.
He said: “Celtic and Rangers have had no Scottish players in some of their teams. And whoever thought Ross County would play a game without a Scotsman in their starting line-up?
“We need to demand more from kids to prove their worth. It is easy to say we need to give them a chance, they have to show they are worth that chance.”
Inverness Caledonian Thistle have benefitted from selling on one of their academy prospects this season, as Keith Bray has agreed a deal with Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic for an undisclosed fee.
He signed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Pars, but has returned to the Caledonian Stadium on a loan deal for the rest of the season.
Christie says while they are looking for youth players to do well with the club and get positive results, they also want to benefit financially if they attract interest from clubs in a higher division.
He said: “There are three or four guys within the youth set up that will figure more at the club.
“It would be great if we could get a Ryan Christie sale every three or four years. But that is hard to achieve when the club is in League One.
“If we can get a Keith Bray deal every one or two years, that can generate good income for the club and sends out a good message to the players.”
As reported in Tuesday’s Inverness Courier, Inverness Caledonian Thistle are also looking to hold talks with regulatory bodies if they are able to offer players new deals while they are in administration.
Christie revealed that around 75 per cent of the squad are out of contract at the end of June.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been in administration since October after wracking up debts of around £3.8 million
Christie says they are looking to hold talks with the SFA and SPFL if they are able to offer deals to its current squad during administration.
He said “We are trying to find out if offering new deals to current players is doable or not.
“We are seeking clarity from the regulating bodies.”