Christie: I'd love to get my old job back at Caley

Apr 27 2008 By Gordon Waddell

CHARLIE CHRISTIE was just 90 seconds away from his dream 14 months ago - the one where he walks into a packed Hampden and leads Inverness to glory.

Last week he strode through the front door of a deserted national stadium to start from scratch.

Scottish football's first casualty this season, the 42-year-old quit Caley Thistle after only three games, fed up with the pain of every dropped point eating him up.

And nothing hurt more than the two goals Celtic scored late on to rob him of a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals last term.

Now Charlie is out to earn the SFA's youth licence - and help build the foundations for a new generation of Highland stars.

A generation Christie insists he will boss in the future. Despite his disappointment that current boss Craig Brewster isn't using him to help out with the first team, Charlie's desire to see the club he loves keep climbing football's ladder has never died.

He said: "I'm back doing the commercial side and the youth coaching - just what I was doing when I finished playing.

"Am I happier? Probably. People say I am! They say I look better for it. I'm not so sure.

"I miss being with the players every day. I feel a bit detached from the first team and don't disguise the fact that's a disappointment.

"But I can't make the manager's mind up for him. Craig knows I'm keen to be involved but I can see his point of view.

"For now I'm going through my youth licence and along with Danny MacDonald, who's in charge of that side of things, I'd love to lay the next foundations for the club.

"Stevie Paterson put down the first lot - there are still seven guys he brought to the club regularly in the first team.

"However, the only way we'll ever replace these players without spending fortunes is from within.

"Name a right-back who'll replace Ross Tokely? Who'll come to Inverness for less than a fortune?

"We have to rear our own and start investing in development.

"We're getting there. I can name seven or eight players we have high hopes for - but it takes time to polish the diamonds though."

Ultimately Christie wants to be the man who takes those diamonds and sees them shine in the top flight too. And even if he doesn't end up back in the Inverness dugout he will definitely coach somewhere.

Christie was a success story in his first spell as a boss - in 101 games he won and drew more than he lost. And that was a period spent exclusively in the SPL.

Charlie confessed: "It annoyed me there was a perception the job was affecting my health and I was cracking up. That was a million miles from true.

"But my assistant Donald Park said I took disappointments too much to heart. And he was right.

"I remember the day we lost to Celtic in the Cup last February. We were a goal up with two minutes to go and you're thinking you're in a semi, on the way to Hampden.

"That would have been the achievement of my life.

"But we lost and the next day I got up to go for a walk, think it through. What could I have done?

"Shut up shop? The next thing I knew I'd gone at least eight miles.

"All that came from poor Graham Bayne giving the ball away which led to the corner for Celtic's equaliser.

"That didn't just stick with me for days - those two minutes haunted me for weeks.

"Longer term I'd have ambitions to get back working at first-team level, preferably at Caley Thistle.

"I'd maybe like to take the manager's job again but if that doesn't happen it will have to be elsewhere."