Caley Thistle manager Duncan Ferguson retains hope he can keep hold of attacker David Wotherspoon beyond this month.
Canadian international Wotherspoon, who joined Inverness on a short-term deal in October after leaving St Johnstone during the summer, is out of contract midway through January.
Wotherspoon has been a sparkling performer for Ferguson’s side, having netted four goals in 11 appearances so far.
That form has prompted Championship rivals Dundee United to be linked with a move for Wotherspoon.
The 33-year-old is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, which means he will miss this weekend’s trip to Ayr United.
Inverness boss Ferguson insists he is eager to retain Wotherspoon’s services, and said: “It’s ongoing – there’s no news on it.
“Maybe no news is good news. Until he tells me he’s not signing the contract, I’m always hopeful he will sign the contract.
“We can certainly look to replace him, but he is a top, top player and it is difficult to replace quality players. He has been great signing for us. I can’t speak highly enough of the lad.
“He is a great athlete, a great professional. But if he goes we will have to find a player. The club will support me if we have to find the right targets.
“There is a wee bit of movement there if we can find the right players.
“We will be looking all over, but the final third is key. The board will support me. I don’t think we need to worry too much about players moving out to bring players in.”
Attacker’s absence keenly felt in recent matches
Wotherspoon suffered his injury in the first half of the 0-0 draw at home to Morton last Saturday, which forced him to miss Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Airdrie.
Ferguson says the absence of Wotherspoon’s attacking spark has reinforced how important a role he has to play in his Caley Jags side.
He added: Since we lost Davie out of the attacking line we have struggled a wee bit to create the chances.
“When he has been in there we have created a lot of chances and we have scored goals.
“It is a bit of a worry.
“But we have got good players in there who can create and hopefully they can take their chance.”
Caley Jags are without a win from their last five matches, however, they can leapfrog Saturday’s opponents Ayr into seventh place in the Championship by ending that sequence at Somerset Park.
Ferguson, who also has an injury doubt over defender Danny Devine, added: “They are a good team, a strong team. They have been scoring goals.
“It is going to be a tough match for us, but they are all tough from where I am standing.
“We need to get a win as soon as we can. That can propel us up the league.
“But we will have to be at our best to get anything out of the match.”
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