10 years of outstanding service to Inverness Caledonian Thistle is to be recognised with a testimonial for popular goalkeeper and coach, Ryan Esson.
Ryan joined the club in August 2008 from Hereford Town and made a total of 187 appearances in goal for the club, with 46 clean sheets. His most memorable achievement is winning a Scottish Cup winners medal in May 2015 in the 2-1 win over Falkirk. He won a Scottish Division One (now Championship) winner’s medal in 2009/10.
He is now a goalkeeping coach and also assists with the management of the highly promising Under 18 squad.
Ryan began his career with his home town team of Aberdeen and gained 7 Under 21 Scotland caps while at Pittodrie, where he spent 16 years. He also played for Rotherham United (loan) and Shrewsbury Town.
One of the organisers of Ryan’s testimonial is Mrs Kath Fraser, who, with her husband Bob, is one of Ryan’s sponsors.
She said: “Ryan has been a great servant of the club for 10 years and is very popular with supporters, being a former Player of the Year. His outstanding service richly deserves the recognition of a testimonial. I will be working with a testimonial committee to organise a few fund-raisers.”
Manager John Robertson said: “I’m delighted Ryan will benefit from a well-deserved testimonial year for his outstanding service over the past 10 years. Ryan has been a tremendous goalkeeper for the club and has played in all 3 domestic cup finals with the never-to-be-forgotten Scottish Cup victory as the pinnacle of his career. Winning the Championship title and Challenge Cup were also tremendous achievements for Ryan and he can look back on his career at ICT with pride.
“Ryan has now moved on to a different challenge with the dual role of goalkeeper coach and Under 18s alongside Barry Wilson and it is a task he is relishing every bit as much as he did playing. I’m sure I echo every ICT fan in saying “thank you” for everything he has done for the club and wish him a very exciting testimonial year.”