INVERNESS Caledonian Thistle completed a groundshare deal with Aberdeen yesterday in a move which should consign Partick Thistle to the first division next season.
The Highland club remain ''cautiously optimistic'' that their agreement will be voted through at Tuesday's general meeting of the SPL board, but they cannot count on the Maryhill club's backing, with chairman Tom Hughes vowing to continue the fight to preserve Thistle's top-flight status.
But for now, at least, it is onwards and upwards for the ambitious Highlanders, who also announced plans to create an SPL-compliant stadium within 10 months.
Ken Mackie, the Inverness chairman, said: ''We have done the job we were asked to and won the league. We were not given the automatic right to go up, but have now fulfilled the groundshare requirement with Aberdeen.
''We've done the sums which we had to base on anticipated crowd numbers. That is going to be the crucial issue. If we hadn't got such a very positive response from the fans we wouldn't have gone ahead.''
At one point the proposal looked to be dead in the water following reports that Aberdeen's fee for renting Pittodrie would be outwith Inverness's reach. The club refused to reveal the cost of playing 19 top-flight games at Pittodrie, but the final figure is understood to be in the region of (pounds) 650,000, or (pounds) 35,000 per match.
Mackie added: ''Aberdeen have been reasonably welcoming. They have got to look after their interests as we have to look after ours. But if a negotiation comes to a successful outcome you can say both sides won.''
There was an added fillip for Caley fans who feared losing their team from the city for
a lengthy spell. The club announced that they would seek to create 10,000 seats - or less if SPL rules are relaxed - for season 2005/06 after local building giant Tulloch pledged a massive investment.
Past chairman and current director David Sutherland, who owns Tulloch, said he was pumping in a ''substantial'' cash sum to realise the SPL dream and redevelop Caledonian Stadium to whatever standard is demanded. Officials believe groundsharing would only be allowed for one season and that rebuilding work will be necessary.
The one remaining obstacle for Inverness is to have their agreement ratified at an SPL meeting on Tuesday, and they will travel south to Hampden to plead their case.
''We will now move forward to the SPL meeting where I believe we will be asked a series of questions which we have to answer to their satisfaction,'' said Mackie, who confirmed that the club will also seek the backing of shareholders to change from PLC status to that of a private company. ''But there can be so many twists and turns in football that you can never take anything for granted. You could say I'm cautiously optimistic.''
The Highlanders will not be allowed to claim their place in the top-flight without some resistance from Thistle. The Firhill club, who spent heavily to ensure their ground was fit for the SPL, are now set for a possible legal battle.
Chairman Hughes said: ''There seems to be an assumption that the minute a groundshare deal between Aberdeen and Inverness was reached that we would be relegated. That is anything but the case.
''The research we have done both with the SPL board members and outside the game, examining aspects of law, means this assumption is anything but correct. We will now be lobbying the other members between now and the June 1 SPL board meeting.''
The Thistle board have scheduled a meeting for next Thursday where they will decide on their next course of action in light of the SPL meeting. ''We do believe in the principles of promotion and relegation but the SPL rules have been prejudiced against us,'' added Hughes.
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