'It's brutal, isn't it?' – Duncan Ferguson speaks after being sacked as manager of Scottish club

10/23/2024 12:29 PM

Duncan Ferguson has spoken out after being relieved of his duties at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, saying it was ‘expected’.

The Scottish club was officially placed into administration and docked 15 points on Tuesday.

It means Inverness, who were initially on 12 points, are now bottom of the ladder on -3 with Dumbarton the closest team on nine points.

It’s a devastating fall from grace for a club that beat Scottish giants Celtic en route to winning the Scottish Cup ten years ago.

Ferguson had gone above and beyond to help ease the financial burden on the club and even began working for free.

The Everton legend dipped into his own pocket to help pay for his players’ petrol.

However, he had little say in administrators BDO’s decision to terminate his contract along with assistant Gary Bollan and goalkeeping coach Stuart Garden.

“Myself and my staff have left the club,” Ferguson told BBC Sport Scotland.

“Of course we were expecting it over the last couple of weeks. This is the cost of administration, isn’t it? So, myself and my two coaches have left as we speak.”

Ferguson took over at Inverness in September last year but could not keep the club afloat in the second tier of Scottish football as they were relegated via the Scottish Championship play-offs.

However, the 52-year-old believes he can hold his head high having ‘done the very best I can for the club and for my players.’

“I’ve always tried to support my players behind the scenes and they all know that and that’s the most important thing for me, that I’ve supported my players,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson will now be on the hunt for his third permanent managerial role having previously worked at English side Forest Green Rovers, where he won just once from 18 games in charge.

He’d previously had two short stints as interim manager at Everton in 2019 and 2022.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his exit from Inverness along with a hefty points deduction, Ferguson remains adamant the crisis-stricken club has what it takes to stay afloat.

“It’s brutal, isn’t it,” Ferguson said.

“It’s really tough to get a 15-point deduction. It all depends now how deeply they cut the playing squad, if they can manage to stay in the division, I think it’s possible.

“I think I brought a lot of good players to the club, they’ll be big assets to the club in the future. So yeah, I think the club can stay in the division if they hold onto their players.

“If not, it’s going to be a tough ask.”

One of the administrators from BDO is expected to front a press conference on Thursday where they will outline their immediate plans for Inverness.

The club take on Dumbarton on Saturday as they look to claw back the deficit between them and their League One rivals.