Billy took some time to speak to ictfc.com before he headed away for a well-deserved break before the start of pre-season for season 2023/24.
Upon the announcement of his new deal, The ICT Head Coach said: “I’m extremely happy. I’m proud to have the chance to manage the boys again next season. I said the word proud to them after the Cup Final and I said a big part of me staying was I want to have another go with most of the group. You can imagine how delighted I am to have struck a new deal at the club.”
Q: The Cup Final against Celtic, did it leave you wanting more and make you excited for next season?
“Just working with the boys in general does. It was great to be in the Cup Final and how great a performance we put up. It’s been like that since I’ve been at the club where, there’s been a couple of downs and there’s been valid reasons in terms of injuries, and it was hard the year before as well.”
“There were valid reasons why there was that type of results, and we weren’t winning games, but the excitement comes from the all-round runs the team can put together. In the first season we got the play-offs after an incredible run. Last season, the run to get within a goal of the play-offs, and the run we put together to get to the Scottish Cup Final. That is what gives me the hunger, desire, and pride to go and work with these boys again.”
Q: We’ve been close with the Play-Off Final & The Scottish Cup Final, are you just looking to do something extra special in the new season?
“We all like personal accolades and we all like to achieve things. The main thing I want to achieve is to try to get Inverness Caledonian Thistle back to the Premiership. It’s been too long now; we’ve been so close and I think you can see there’s big steps being made to show we’re going somewhere and we’re getting there.”
“Over the two years there’s been reasons why we’ve just fallen short, but you can see we’re really close to where we all want to be. When you look at the points difference between first and us this year, after where we were, and how close it was the season before. If it wasn’t for those said reasons, I think we would have had a great chance of being there already.”
Q: Is it time to recharge and get ready for a new season?
“Yes, with the injuries last season and the highs and lows of the past couple of weeks but it’s all positive. We were beaten against Celtic, but the performance we put up was incredible and I thought at times we had them.”
“In the Ayr United game, it didn’t look like we were going to get there but we gave ourselves an unbelievable chance going into that last game.”
“So, although there’s been highs and lows, there’s been so many positives. Yes, I need a holiday, I’m looking forward to it but then I’ll be getting myself back in, going again and refreshed for the new season. There will be nobody more ready than me to get going.”
Q: The Fans support since you arrived has been fantastic, how much are you looking forward to continuing that into the new season?
“When you see them at McDiarmid Park in the Play-Off Final or when you see them at Hampden on Saturday there, I’m desperate for more for them.”
“I just want them to realise while there are downs and times where we aren’t winning that we have a great group of boys. It is one of the best dressing rooms I have been in during my whole career and that says a lot as I’ve been in a lot of good ones.”
“We’re not going to win every game and if we aren’t winning games, I want them to stay with the boys because the fans are the ones that can give us that edge to get us over the line.”
“If we stick together collectively, whether it’s the staff, the players or the fans then we’ll not be far away.”