Caley Thistle manager John Robertson hopes the offer of a testimonial will be enough to persuade midfielder Iain Vigurs to remain at Caledonian Stadium.
Vigurs has been offered a three-year contract by Inverness, which would prolong his second spell at the club to six years. The 29-year-old previously spent two years with the Highlanders between 2006 and 2008.
Although Vigurs has alternative options, with Dundee United, Dunfermline and Plymouth Argyle having been linked with him, Robertson is pulling out all the stops to ensure the Aberdeen-born player stays.
Robertson said: “We are still waiting for Iain to get back to us. We have offered him a very good deal, with a testimonial attached to it, so he’s got a lot to think about. We understand that.
“I will hope to catch up with him early next week to get a final decision.
“If he stays, which we all want him to do, we are all hopeful and would be excited if he did stay. If he signs we will not need to add, but if he goes we will need to find somebody else.
“But there’s no point in pushing ahead with any other targets until we know exactly what the players we want to keep are doing first. We’ve got people in mind, but there’s no point in getting them excited by talking to them about a potential move – it might not happen.
“It’s a domino effect – if one falls, others will come in and fall behind them. We have got targets in mind, but it’s dictated first and foremost by people who are staying or leaving the club.
“If one or two lads leave the club we will have to replace them, that’s just natural order.
“The likes of Iain is a perfect example, once we know what his decision is.”
Robertson confirmed goalkeeper Ryan Esson will remain in a coaching role, while any new contract for attacker Connor Bell could depend on players leaving Caley Jags, with Robertson revealing winger Jake Mulraney’s move to Premiership club Hearts is on the verge of completion.
Robertson added: “It’s just paperwork that’s holding it up with Jake. From a Hearts perspective, we are just waiting on Jake’s agent to finalise the deal at their side. From our perspective and our part of the deal, we have done it, but it’s just a couple of signatures here and there.
“Connor Bell will be privy to whether, with the budgets being cut, we can move players on and make more money available to uplift them to where his agent expects them to be.”