‘Our relegation in 2009 still haunts me. I remember the tears. It would be fantastic to put that right...’
SAYS RICHIE FORAN
NOT normally a man to dwell too much on the past, Richie Foran is cursed by one unwelcome exception.
Perhaps he should march into the home dressing room on Survival Saturday armed with a Bible and a vial of Holy Water.
Because, if events in the Highlands and Hamilton align to pitch Caley Thistle into the blessed purgatory of the Play-offs, rather than the instant damnation of automatic relegation, it will feel like nothing less than an exorcism.
‘It haunts me to this day,’ confessed Inverness boss Foran, gamely forcing himself to face his own painful memories of falling into the second tier on May 23, 2009.
‘I remember the chances. My memory is not great, to be honest. But I remember that game and remember the chances I missed. I remember the feeling after it.
‘I remember the tears of the office staff as I was leaving the ground, knowing they would be losing their jobs. So I know what it means to be relegated.’
A Caley Thistle player on that day eight summers ago, Foran passed up ‘a few opportunities’, as he puts it, to get the home side the single point they needed at home to Falkirk. The Bairns, needing to win, got the three points courtesy of a Michael Higdon goal. And stayed up.
‘It would be fantastic to put that right,’ admitted the Irishman, in his first job as a manager.
‘Because, for me personally, I look back on that as a real disappointment in my career.
‘I say that because I could influence it. I played — and missed a few good chances.
‘I can’t exert as much influence from the sidelines this time. But those players can influence it. They just have to take care of business.’
This weekend’s situation is different, not so much a head-tohead clash as an exercise in trying
not to constantly look over their shoulders.
Inverness need to win their home game against Motherwell and hope that Dundee take something from their trip to the Superseal Stadium.
Hamilton are masters of their own fate, a point clear and knowing that
a win renders events in Inverness irrelevant.
Yet Foran, who has rather shamelessly been trying to pile the pressure on Accies ahead of a make-or-break afternoon, has personal experience of how these days can mess with a man’s head.
‘It was in our own hands back then,’ he said, when asked if there were any similarities between ’09 and the impending climax to the current campaign.
‘That’s why I can talk about Hamilton, who also have it in their own hands.
‘I know what it’s like to have that pressure on your shoulders. It’s an immense, immense pressure.
‘That’s when you need your leaders. Unfortunately, I missed a few chances in that game.
‘I didn’t do my job. And I was definitely feeling the pressure that day — a huge amount on my shoulders, knowing that it was in my hands, that we had to go out and perform.
‘I think a draw would have done us on the day — but we couldn’t even manage that. All because of the pressure on our shoulders.
‘I don’t want to throw too much of my focus over there (Hamilton). I’ve told you how I think they’ll feel because I know how they’ll feel.
‘I’ve been there, going into the last game knowing you can win to stay up — and being relegated.
‘I know what it’s like to have that massive amount of pressure on you, to win at home when everyone is expecting you to win.
‘But I need to put most of my focus on us beating Motherwell, setting up for that — and keeping the lads hungry.’
Speaking with pride about the previous night’s thundering victory over Dundee at Dens Park, looking just a little puffy-eyed through lack of sleep, Foran cut a determined but relaxed figure in the familiar surroundings of his home ground yesterday.
Speaking in a room bedecked with photos of the club’s 2015 Scottish Cup win at Hampden, he showed not a sign of doubt, nary a hint of wobble.
His players, who have given themselves a frankly unexpected second chance, could do worse than emulate the quiet confidence of their gaffer.
Between now and kick-off tomorrow, however, his main concern is resting the tired bodies for — he hopes — three more games.
Admitting that he had instructed them all to ‘stay on the sofa’ and ‘get a baby-sitter’, Foran said: ‘I trust the players to look after themselves, on and off the park.
‘Inverness is a small city. I know exactly what they’re doing nearly every minute of the day — as does everyone else in the city!
‘Golf? They won’t be on the course. I will — they won’t. Seriously, I trust the boys.
‘We’re in a good place, mentally, even though it won’t be easy against a very strong side with two very good attackers in Scott McDonald and Louis Moult. We played good football in Dundee. There’s a fine balance.
‘But I’ve spoken about it for months now — the fact that attack-minded players, who didn’t think they needed to win tackles and headers, they’re now winning those tackles and headers.
‘Eventually, the penny has dropped. We saw that in an excellent performance in Dundee.’
Few enjoyed Wednesday night’s win at Dens more than Billy Mckay, who was part of the Dundee United team relegated by their old rivals at the same venue last season. The striker scored the opener, only his fourth goal since rejoining his old club in January. What would he give for a winner tomorrow? ‘We had been written off — and probably rightly so, because it hasn’t been good enough,’ said Mckay. ‘But this club never gives up. I’ve been here for a long time and we always fight back. If we can get out of this, it would be up there with my best achievements at the club.’
They remain outsiders, of course. Should they stand firm while Hamilton wobble, however, Inverness will have earned the right to play either Falkirk or Dundee United over two legs.
And giving their rookie manager a new memory that, for very different reasons, might go with him for the rest of his life.