Charlie Christie stepped down as Inverness Caley manager yesterday.

The Herald says Christie has already put forward John Robertson's name as his favoured successor. Robertson is currently in charge of Ireland's Derry City.

Caley football chief Graham Bennett said: "This is not one of those supposed mutual consent' resignations.

"The first I knew was over the weekend when Charlie told me the stress of management was becoming far worse than he had expected. He felt that, in fairness to his wife and family, he needed to step down.

"Charlie is part of the family here and has been a great part of the success we've had.

"We would like to keep him here in some capacity and that is also his wish. As well as being our manager, Charlie is a close friend and has been for years. Charlie is Charlie - he beats himself up when we lose and takes it very hard. To be fair, he was the same as a player but just felt it had gone too far this time.

"I admire his honesty. This time when I talked to him on Sunday morning I knew that there was no point in trying to talk him around. I just knew for sure he'd made up his mind. Even when he took the job, he had concerns and was honest about them at the time.

"If you are not enjoying your work and by the nature of the job you are living it Saturday to Saturday and taking it home with you, it is going to get to you."