Duncan Ferguson slammed by Arbroath as 'retraction' demanded from Inverness boss after 'downing tools' rant

Arbroath have hit out at Inverness manager Duncan Ferguson after he accused their players of “downing tools on their club and manager" following their relegation to League One.

The raging Everton legend claimed that the Red Lichties would be making Caley Thistle big to avoid joining them in the third tier even harder due to their level of performance after their drop from the Scottish Championship was rubber-stamped. Arbroath still to face relegation rivals Morton and Queen’s Park leading Ferguson to claim his side now need at least four wins from their last five matches to survive the drop.

Arbroath have now hit out at the comments and revealed that Inverness officials have already reached out to apologise for the blast. However, they state they are still awaiting a "retraction" from Ferguson. A statement read: "Arbroath Football Club are extremely disappointed to learn of Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager, Duncan Ferguson's recent press comments, questioning our players professionalism in the final stages of this season's SPFL Cinch Championship.

"Whilst we understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it's concerning that a fellow members club representative, would publicly call into question the sporting integrity of our players attitude, and feel this to be extremely disrespectful and damaging to both Arbroath FC and the Scottish game as a whole.

"We pride ourselves on the professionalism of our staff at all times, and are disappointed to be making this statement. We have been contacted by senior officials from ICT, and their apology has been accepted as both clubs have always maintained a good relationship, but we await Mr Ferguson's retraction of said comments prior, bringing this incident to