Craig Brewster and John Robertson have been thrust into contention for the position of manager at Caley Thistle.

The job became vacant when Charlie Christie turned his back on the job after Caley had experienced a poor start to the season.

It is understood that Christie put Robertson's name forward as his favoured successor, while after Brewster's departure early last year, the club's board had emphatically ruled out turning the clock back in their appointments.

However, with a different chairman, Alan Savage, having replaced David Sutherland at the helm, there now appears to be a change in policy. Graeme Bennett, the club's director of football, said nobody, including past managers, would be ruled out of the hunt for Caley's fifth manager in five years.

"We're conscious of the transfer window closing," he said yesterday. "That's key. We won't set targets but the preference is for sooner, rather than later. I think we've got to look at the whole picture before making a choice. I wouldn't rule anybody out at this stage.

"We've always had the strategy of going for a young manager. Do we change that? I don't know. We'll decide on Wednesday when we chat as a board and get a steer as to which route we want to go down. That may or may not take in some of our old managers. I'm open-minded."

Brewster's impact at Inverness was impressive in his first managerial post before a miserable time at Dundee United. It is thought he has a release clause in his Aberdeen playing contract allowing him to take a managerial post.

Robertson, now manager of Derry City, guided Caley Thistle into the SPL with a title and Bell's Cup double, but his career also turned sour at Hearts after leaving Inverness.

Bennett claimed he was "shocked" by Christie's move, which was made final on Sunday morning. "This is not one of those supposed mutual consent' resignations, he said. "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."

The director of football added that a third successive league defeat to St Mirren was not the root cause of resignation. Rather, the suffocating pressures of trying to further the team he served with distinction in the town of his upbringing had simply become too much.

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

Bennett, as a high-profile figure in his home city, has tasted similar. Like Christie, he finds it hard to go out for a quiet meal or drink in Inverness without harassment, whether it is mild football-related banter or something more aggressive. "Inverness is a very different place now compared to what it used to be," he said.

"Charlie and I are Inverness boys and we've been mates for years. However, the intensity of it given the way expectations have risen so steeply makes it difficult to just enjoy a quiet pint.

"Everywhere you go, it's football, football, football and you can't switch off. We shared the drive home from Paisley on Saturday night and he told me his thoughts. Charlie is an emotional guy and can say things in the heat of the moment. In January and then in March there were similar scenarios.

"I asked him to sleep on it and then he came around to my house on the Sunday morning, but I just knew when I looked at him, it was different this time. This time it was for real whereas before it hadn't been as strong a feeling.

"I'm disappointed because there was no pressure from us. We were happy with the job he was doing. His record is good - I'm clear on that - and finishing eighth after seventh the year before was a great achievement along with seven points from nine against Rangers."

Christie's record in a little over 18 months in the job stands up well in comparison to predecessors Steve Paterson, Robertson and Brewster.

Up to the end of last season, he had won 24 and drawn 17 of 63 games in charge before this season's defeats to Rangers, Motherwell and St Mirren.