Ex-Celtic hotshot lifts lid on shock release after heartbreaking '30-second' meeting with SPFL club

The former Celtic youngster finds himself on the free agent market after his release

Former Celtic youngster Adam Brooks has opened up on the ‘horrible moment’ he was informed of his release by Inverness Caledonian Thistle after the club fell into administration last week.

A former Celtic academy product, Brooks enjoyed a goal-laden season in Glasgow, scoring 13 goals in 19 games during the 2022/23 season for the club’s B team. One of the top scorers in the Lowland League that year, Brooks rejected a contract offer at Celtic Park and instead opted to move to Inverness the following summer as he looked to make his foray into senior football.

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Making his debut for the club in a 2-1 League Cup win over Bonnyrigg Rose just days after his arrival, the 20-year-old featured 27 times for Inverness, but was unable to prevent the club from dropping into the third tier of Scottish football as they fell to a 5-3 aggregate defeat against Hamilton in the Championship relegation play-offs.

Adam Brooks during enjoyed a supremely successful season for Celtic B during the 2022/23 season. Cr: SNS Group.Adam Brooks during enjoyed a supremely successful season for Celtic B during the 2022/23 season. Cr: SNS Group.
Adam Brooks during enjoyed a supremely successful season for Celtic B during the 2022/23 season. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

In an interview with The Inverness Courier, Brooks said: “Thursday was a really tough day for everyone, although a few of us had mentally prepared ourselves for the worst. We had a feeling it was coming.

“We came in that morning, prepared as normal, and then were told that the administrators were waiting. We weren’t allowed to train until they had spoken to us, so we were sitting there in our own clothes, getting called in one by one. For me, it was just a brief 30 seconds where they said they had to make redundancies and I got told to go. That was it.”

Brooks remained with the club following relegation and bagged three goals this year, but was one of five players being made redundant by club administrators last week alongside Wallace Duffy, Cameron Ferguson, Jack Newman and Flynn Duffy.

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While the ex-Hoops player has already had some interest in his services, several of his shell-shocked former Inverness team-mates have been thrust into uncertainty as they contemplate the next step in their professional football careers.

“People forget the level we’re at,” said Brooks. “We’re not Man City players with millions in the bank. We need a job to pay the bills. I could potentially start afresh back home with family in the central belt, but the boys from up in the Highlands were really stressed out.

After being released by Inverness, the striker is on the lookout for a new club. Cr: SNS Group.After being released by Inverness, the striker is on the lookout for a new club. Cr: SNS Group.
After being released by Inverness, the striker is on the lookout for a new club. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

“I really felt for the staff and the boys in the squad who lived in Inverness as they didn’t know where else they could go to play. The club has not made any sort of contact at all, which is usual for Inverness. I doubt I’ll get any contact from them, so I just have to work through the PFA Scotland lawyer.

“We have been kind of reassured that so long as the club doesn’t go into liquidation, we will get the rest of our playing contract or some kind of a lump sum, I’m not too sure.

“We’ve been reassured we will at least get something, as opposed to nothing. It has been a very unsettling time, but now it is hopefully an opportunity for me to kick on elsewhere.”

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