Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager John Robertson has committed his long-term future to the Highland club.
Robertson has been linked with St Johnstone in the wake of Tommy Wright’s departure from McDiarmid Park.
With Daniel Stendel’s future in doubt at Tynecastle, he has also been tipped to return to his old club Hearts.
The fact that he has signed a contract with the Caley Jags through to the summer of 2023 strengthens the chances of Wright taking charge of the Jam Tarts following confirmation of which league the Edinburgh club will be playing in next season.
If there is reconstruction, both Hearts and Inverness will be in the Premiership for 2020/21 in a 14-team top flight. The status quo would see them battling it out in the second tier.
Robertson, who had a year left to run on his existing deal, said: “I came back to Inverness with the ambition of getting us back to the Premiership and in fairness I knew that it would take a lot of work and no small amount of football luck and it has probably been something of a rollercoaster since my return.
“We have lost some key players due to budget constraints, but I knew that would happen given the fallout from relegation and the lack of finances available in the Championship and it only made me work harder.
“That said, I know we are getting closer to achieving our goal and the faith that Ross (Morrison), Scot (Gardiner) and the board of directors have shown in me gives me further confidence that we can continue to improve if we stick together.”
“I am just about over the disappointment of losing out on our chance to win promotion via the play-offs through no fault of our own, but having been out and about in the community during the lockdown as part of our TogetherNess campaign, I can see how much the club means to the fans and how much we all want to achieve success again at the club.
“I will continue to give my all to get us back into the top tier of Scottish football and I can’t wait to get the boys back on the training pitch.”
Chairman Morrison added: “John has been a leader on and off the field since his return and speaking personally, since taking up the position of chairman, I have really enjoyed working with him and I have seen up close and personal just how much the success of the team and the club means to him.”
“The board and I were unanimous in approving this extension, something we started discussing as far back as January of this year. I also have great confidence in his relationship with Scot as they work so well together and our respect and confidence in his ability is entirely mutual.”
