MORE than one bottle of Terry Butcher's favourite red wine would have been required to drown his sorrows on Saturday night.
The mournful demeanour of this quintessential Englishman, who has found his spiritual home in Scottish football, was painful to witness as he walked into the media room at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.
In the adjacent main reception area, some o
f the Inverness Caledonian Thistle staff had been struggling to hold back tears as their club's relegation from the SPL, after five admirable years in the top flight, began to sink in.
Butcher, for all of the passion he has brought to every role he has filled in a remarkable career, has never lacked a sense of perspective and will come to terms with this latest disappointment quicker than most over the coming days as he plots an immediate route back to the SPL.
On Saturday afternoon, however, his immediate sense of despair was raw and tangible. Having taken the reins at Inverness at the end of January, when they appeared hopelessly cut adrift at the bottom of the table, Butcher effected a startling transformation of the Highland club.
They went into Saturday's visit of Falkirk with their fate in their own hands, a final day scenario the club's board and supporters would happily have settled for four months ago, knowing a draw would be enough to avoid the drop into the First Division.
There were two sides to this almost sadomasochistic story, however, with Falkirk equally focused on securing the victory they needed to extend their four-year residency in the SPL.
As a footballing spectacle, it was predictably grim. In dramatic terms, it was compelling viewing, the footballing equivalent of car crash television.
When referee Eddie Smith – a villain in the eyes of the home side for the pivotal decision to send off Ross Tokely six minutes before half-time – blew his whistle for the last time it was Falkirk who celebrated salvation and Inverness who were the victims of a cruel relegation equation.
Their final points tally of 37, more than half of which were earned in the last 15 games of the campaign following Butcher's arrival, is the highest total with which any club has dropped out of the SPL. In the final analysis, Inverness finished bottom on a goal difference just two inferior to a relieved St Mirren side.
"Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it, it wasn't on our side," lamented Butcher. "I can't begin to describe the feeling in the dressing-room after the game. I could hardly speak to the players because of the emotions and huge disappointment.
"I was relegated as a player with Ipswich Town in 1986 and felt terrible then, but this probably feels even worse.
"The players have been fantastic for me since I came here and I can't thank them enough for their efforts. This is a bitter pill to swallow for all of us. We had chances to get out of the situation and to have come so close, to have given everything they have, makes it even more soul-destroying."
If Butcher can ever face watching a DVD of this game, he will reflect ruefully on his team's failure to make the most of their more aggressive and purposeful start against a Falkirk side who appeared nervous and uncertain of their approach early on. And Richie Foran missed a glorious opportunity to give Inverness a 12th minute lead which the visitors would surely have found it difficult to overturn.
The biggest turning point of the afternoon was long-serving defender Tokely's dismissal for pulling back Steve Lovell on the edge of the penalty area. Referee Smith, after consulting his assistant Martin Cryans, issued a straight red card to Tokely. The decision was technically correct, but Inverness disputed that Lovell was in sufficient control of the ball for it to be deemed a clear goalscoring opportunity.
Falkirk effectively utilised their numerical superiority in the second half and grabbed the decisive goal in the 68th minute. The excellent Jackie McNamara collected Carl Finnigan's measured pass as he surged down the right and delivered a low cross which Michael Higdon, who had replaced Lovell just three minutes earlier, converted at the near post.
Falkirk manager John Hughes was in magnanimous mood afterwards. "Commiserations to Inverness, they are a wonderful club and I really feel for them," he said.
"It's not a nice way to win a match, against ten men, and I feel we won it by default a little.
"But my players, after a poor first half, followed our gameplan to the letter in the second half and I'm delighted with the result. I will be a better manager next season for this experience and we will be a better team."
MAN OF THE MATCH
Jackie McNamara (Falkirk)On a day when Falkirk required cool heads and brave hearts, no-one stepped up to the plate more effectively than the veteran former Scotland defender. Faultless at the back, McNamara also provided intelligent support for his midfield.
The full article contains 854 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
