Caley Thistle manager Richie Foran hopes defender Carl Tremarco remains with the Highlanders for the long haul after he agreed a contract extension until 2018.
Tremarco, who joined Caley Jags from Macclesfield Town in 2013, is expected to complete the deal before tomorrow’s Premiership trip to Dundee, with the Englishman joining Alex Fisher, who signed an extension until the end of the season earlier this week, in committing his future to the Highlanders.
Tremarco has made the left back position his own since Graeme Shinnie left for Aberdeen last summer, and Foran says the 31-year-old’s progress both on and off the field made it an easy decision to tie him down.
Foran said: “He’s been a stalwart. He had to be patient when Graeme Shinnie was here and he’s worked immensely hard. He’s tenacious, tackles well, is aggressive – he ticks all the boxes. He really wants to be here.
“His family is settled, his kids are in school and he wants to be here for the next three, four, five years. I see him being here for that time too, if he can keep his fitness levels up.
“He trains the way he plays. He does a bit of coaching with Gary Warren with the under-20s, so he’s a real club man. The more of them on board the better.”
Tremarco’s fellow full back David Raven is set to miss the trip to Dens Park, after failing to shake off the effects of concussion he suffered in a collision with team-mate Jake Mulraney in the build up to the 3-0 defeat against Celtic earlier this month.
Foran will apply caution to Raven’s recovery, and said: “We can’t put a time scale on it. We’re trying to progress it every day. He’s with the physio jogging, so we’re trying to up the tempo of that. He’s getting headaches in the evening, so we have to step it back again and it’s one we won’t be pushing. We have to be careful with it because it’s a dangerous thing to have.
“We have to look after his health. Circumstances will dictate – he could be back next week or it could be a couple of months. Craig Curran at Ross County had problems for months with it, so every situation is different. We’ll get him back as soon as he’s ready and he’s keeping himself fit.”