Caley Thistle face a fight with their rivals to keep hold of attacker David Wotherspoon.
Four goals in 11 largely sparkling appearances since signing a short-term deal with ICT have other suitors interested in the Canadian international, who celebrates his 34th birthday on January 16.
He will be a free agent again in the middle of the month, and though the Highlanders have tabled an extended contract offer, manager Duncan Ferguson accepts they might well lose the battle to keep hold of Wotherspoon.
Championship title contenders Dundee United are reportedly keen to take the star back to Tayside and will be seen as real rivals for his signature.
Ferguson, who is happy to wait for an answer from the player on his future, said: “I hear a few things here and there, but as far as I know it’s ongoing.
“The offer is still there for him, but I know he’s got other offers and he’s going through that in his mind with his family.
“We will give him as much time as he wants. I think he’s contracted to us until around January 14.”
Caley Thistle without injured David Wotherspoon
Ex-St Johnstone star Wotherspoon suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 0-0 Championship draw against Morton.
He is expected to be out for more than a week, meaning he’ll sit out Tuesday’s trip to Airdrie and Saturday’s away day at Ayr United.
That would mean once he recovers from injury, his final ICT match could be against Dundee United – one of the clubs linked to Wotherspoon – at the Caledonian Stadium on Friday January 12.
Transfer activity ‘massive’ for ICTFC
Should the first class finisher opt to stay with Inverness, even until the end of the season, it would give their promotion hopes a real shot in the arm.
Ferguson has got the ball rolling when it comes to trying to bring players to the Highland capital during the winter window.
He pointed to the difference adding even strong short-term signings could make.
He said: “We’re looking to see if we can get any loans in.
“It’s not easy to attract players, but we’re in there fighting with everyone else to see whether we can bring players up here.
“It would be massive for us to get two or three players in to help the squad. I’ve got a good team and we have good players, but it is always nice to strengthen.
“We brought David Wotherspoon in and he’s shaped up to be one of our best players, so hopefully we can add players in the transfer window.”
Inverness aim to create gap at bottom
Despite being eighth in the Championship, Inverness trail fourth-placed Dunfermline Athletic by just five points, albeit having played one match more than the Fifers.
Dundee United’s impressive 3-0 win against Partick Thistle and Airdrie’s late 2-1 comeback victory at Queen’s Park were the Championship games with decisive outcomes at the weekend.
Just a week after all five second-tier games ended level, three of the five ended all-square this time.
Ferguson, whose side have now posted four clean sheets in his 13 games in charge, expects a better display from his team as they hunt full points at Airdrie on Tuesday afternoon.
He added: “The Championship is so tight.
“That’s why I am quite happy to have got a point on Saturday when we were not at our best against Morton.
“We can be better than that and we’re hoping we will be better than that against Airdrie, which is a tough place to go. They’re all tough in this league.
“We have never quite created a distance at the bottom of the league. We stumbled at the wrong times.”
Airdrie lead the head-to-heads 2-1
Tuesday will be the fourth meeting between the Caley Jags and the Diamonds this season.
Airdrie were 3-2 victors in the Viaplay Cup group stages in July and followed that with a 2-1 league win at the Excelsior Stadium in August.
Under Ferguson, Caley Thistle got the edge on Rhys McCabe’s team at the Caledonian Stadium with a 1-0 win in October – thanks to Wotherspoon’s debut goal.
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