SFL in Focus: Inverness on the road to success

GEORGE Fraser spent this midweek in Macrihanish where, by some freak of nature or technology, mobile phone networks were down. The chairman of Inverness Caledonian Thistle, therefore, could not join in the phone call or text frenzy as the full-time whistle blew at Stark's Park on Wednesday night.

Fraser spent yesterday catching up with messages, generally of goodwill and almost three figure in number, following confirmation that Inverness will play Premier League football once again next season. "Normally when so many people are looking for the chairman, something has gone wrong," he said. "So there is no problem having so much attention for such a positive reason as this."

Caley Thistle's immediate promotion back to a top flight they were relegated from in such agonising circumstances last May has looked seamless thanks to a 19-game unbeaten run, which the manager Terry Butcher is adamant he wants to extend in Ayr today.

However, Butcher's successful overhaul of a team which he supplemented largely with young players, and meaningfully from England, did not come without its troubles. Within four months of this season starting, the notion of Inverness claiming the title with two games to spare was likely to be dismissed by fantasy scriptwriters.

Off the field, there has been a higher price to pay. Relegation not only had an understandable and negative impact on attendance figures at the Caledonian Stadium, the infrastructure of the club suffered from the basic loss of SPL income. "It was a very difficult time," conceded the chairman of a period when the internal structure of Caley Thistle was affected by redundancy. "We had to downsize, cut back; Terry was fully aware of what a difficult process that was to come through, how hard it was. Now, we have an opportunity to rebuild."

That process, naturally, will start with the playing squad, with all but a handful of them running out of contract within the six weeks. Butcher will shortly open negotiations with those he is seeking to keep.

It will be to the manager's delight that Adam Rooney, the prolific striker, is not one of those whose deal is up, which should be sufficient to douse interest from Aberdeen. The irony relating to the expiration of contracts is that, with a future in the Scottish Football League appearing likely as recently as Christmas, Caley Thistle's board would have been completely unperturbed by such a scenario. Now, they will seek to retain key playing assets.

David Sutherland, Caley Thistle's majority shareholder, can smile now when recalling accounting scenarios from the turn of the year. "It was like walking along one of those old circus tight-ropes – blindfolded," he said. "We didn't know which way it was going to go.

"It doesn't take a degree in mathematics to work out what we would have been looking at if we hadn't gone back up. Whatever issues we have now, we are delighted to have."

Sutherland is confident that the players Butcher wants to re-sign will do so. "Terry not only knows how to negotiate with players, he knows what is right for their careers. Players respect that."

Fraser says Butcher's own terms would have been extended, as they were until 2011, regardless of what division Inverness were to open next season in. "We had great belief in the work he was doing," confirmed the chairman.

Sutherland picks that particular deal agreement as pivotal in the team's season. "I thought Terry's new contract gave a signal to the players," he explained. "I also thought it planted a psychological seed in Terry's mind and in the players' minds: there was to be stability. They all really pulled together after that."

Sutherland's finance has provided a stable backdrop to Inverness's 16-year existence. The successful businessman stresses the fact Caley Thistle carry no debt, but, as someone who has spent his entire life in the Highland capital, takes far more pleasure from the boost promotion will hand to the city. "It is fantastic for Inverness as a whole," he added. "When Caley Thistle are in the SPL the entire city is buzzing. The last time we were in the Premier League, I think we put Inverness on the football map.

"What the team has done, added to the brilliant achievement of Ross County in getting to the cup final, has been so positive for the Highlands. Things like this are a boost for everybody in the area. We are back where we belong."

Sutherland remains confident the vast number of football fans in the Highlands will "fully get behind" Inverness upon their SPL return. As to prove such a point, he, Fraser and the remaining Caley Thistle directors will travel to Hampden to support Ross County in the Scottish Cup final. One northern fairytale down for the season, one more to go.