Courier story here on contract offers: http://www.inverness...Kay-to-stay.htm

some snippets:

TERRY Butcher wants to keep out of contract duo Greg Tansey and Billy McKay, but concedes other clubs interested in the pair might be able to offer them more money than Caley Thistle.

I have seen enough of Tansey to think he can go on to have a good future at this club, like most of the team he has been below par for the last few games but i think it would be worthwhile getting him signed up

McKay has come into a bit of form over the last few games, if only we played tactics to suit him (ie ball on the deck) i am sure he would have more goals to his name. Glad to see Butcher looking to extend his deal but we need another forward to compliment him

Forwards Jonny Hayes, who is wanted by Aberdeen, and Gregory Tade have been offered two and one-year contracts respectively, while Butcher is confident Ryan Esson will pledge his future to Caley Thistle following talks with the goalkeepers agent.

Now, Butcher has turned his attentions to keeping a hold of both midfielder Tansey and frontman McKay, who only arrived at the Highland Capital club last summer.

I would love them to stay," said Butcher, who plans to try and offer two-year deals where he can to Caley Thistle’s out of contract players.

Glad to hear 2 year deals are being offered. One year deals are pointless IMO, the player doesnt really commit to the club in that 6 months into that deal he can speak to any other club and the club has no protection on their investment. relegation wage drops can be written into contracts so i dont buy that players wont commit if the club may drop a division

Butcher has already started monitoring possible transfer targets for next season as well and spent time in England last week taking in some matches.

He has stated his desire to bring former Caley Thistle midfielder Ian Black back to the club when he leaves Hearts at the end of the season, while striker David Clarkson, who Butcher gave a debut to as a 17-year-old when boss of Motherwell, is another player he would be interested in following his release this week from English Championship side Bristol City.

This is the bit that pleased me most, it is abundantly clear we need some reinforcements in the team and i'm glad to hear Butcher has starting looking at players.

Getting Black back would be a real coup and while i'm not optimistic it will happen given his now higher wage demands i'm glad to see Butcher showing interest

Clarkson would be a great signing however i think this article is merely specualting that Butcher is interested, i certainly hope he is though!

I would be delighted if Black came back but I would guess his wage demands would be too much for us, Clarkson would be an excellent signing, we need someone who is capable of putting the ball in the back of the net and he has proven he can do it in the SPL

Tansey and McKay have both done enough this season for me to earn new contracts.

As for Clarkson and black. Ehmm yes please. Would absolutely love them to come up here.

not to excited at retaining McKay or Tansey...I would imagine Black will be looking at move down South for more dosh

Im content with keeping both players, they both deserve another year at the club, agreed with OP. Tansey has shown flashes of quality and could come really good for us next season. McKay is playing a very difficult role as a lone striker but some one like Clarkson could be the perfect strike partner for him.

I'm glad Butcher is aiming high in terms of quality players. Black and Clarkson would be brilliant to have in the squad but we would have to pull out all the stops to get them.

OK, so Hayes, Tade, Esson, Mackay and Tansey are being offered new contracts.

But what about anyone not on that list? Has he started off with the players he sees as key and is less bothered about the others? Or are they not getting offers at all?

MacKay COULD come good with the right type of service and patrner. Tansey is pretty overrated IMO flatters to decieve too often for me, I often forget he's on the pitch. Would be great to have Blackie back, but as others have said I doubt we could afford him.

OK, so Hayes, Tade, Esson, Mackay and Tansey are being offered new contracts.

But what about anyone not on that list? Has he started off with the players he sees as key and is less bothered about the others? Or are they not getting offers at all?

That's what i'm wondering. Last year it was announced a few weeks before the end of the season who will be released. It's possible that players have been told privately. Maybe the Munro / Duncan supporters back lash means that if players are being released, it will be announced publicly after the season ends. I do find it odd that Tade was offered a new contract and then dropped for the last couple of games. I can only assume that McKay was being tested and he's passed the test.

I like Tansey and McKay. There seems to be a lot of negative comments about Tansey on CTO. He's had plenty of bad games for sure. But so has everyone including Jonny Hayes! Like Hayes, Tansey has had plenty of good games. McKay has played well enough and works hard enough to get a new contract. I'm sure he would score more goals if he wasn't on his own up front with the ball hoofed to him. He's just not that type of player. If he can get a good strike partner, then he could be our top scorer next season into double figures.

Apart from Gillet and Tuffey i wouldn't really lose sleep about losing anyone else who is out of contract.

A few people have mentioned recently that Mackay would be good if only he had the right strike partner, but the reality is that we only play one up front and there's no sign of that tactic changing. If Mackay is our lone striker next season we aren't going to score many goals.

McKayis a hard-working, line leader not a goalscorer. I think he's a decent player, could be more valuable with a proper pre-season under his belt.

Tansey is a strange one. He looks like a good player and can move the ball with purpose, break well and has a decent shot. I think he's been disappointing in that he hasn't put performances together and really dominated games. He should be the heartbeat of a side but all too often he's been a 6/10 sort of player. I wouldn't be averse to offering him a new deal, although I think he might want to go back to England. Did we not get him on a free because of cross border contract rules?

Tansey has been a bit of a disappointment to me, especially his lack of goal threat. He is a capable player and I'm happy for him to stay but we really need him to make a greater impact.

So as things stand, of all the players who're out of contract, the following have not (as far as we know) been offered new deals are Johnny Tuffey, Kenny Gillet, Ross Tokely, David Proctor and Thomas Piermayr. I think Gillet and probably Tuffey will be offered new deals (though I suspect the latter may well be away) and Tokely definitely should (I can see Butcher not though). Piermayr perhaps will be away then, with maybe Proctor following him, though Butcher seems to keep him no matter what.

Here's a thought for you though. With all the outrage about Munro and Duncan being gotten rid of last season, I wonder if Butcher will announce those leaving after the end of the season. Does that mean then that he's getting rid of somebody hugely influential and popular with the fans? If he was to announce today that say Piermayr and Proctor were leaving, there might be a couple of disagreeing views, but nothing massive and certainly nothing on the scale of last season. Does this mean then that Tokely (as I predicted earlier in the season), will be one of those leaving and Butcher will only announce it later on to avoid the outrage he knows, correctly will come his way?

I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing Tokely next season, I just don't know if it will be every week or just on derby days.....

Letting Tuffey go is a risk if we were to get an injury to Esson, he is a good keeper but perhaps to expensive to have as a luxury on the bench. Is there enough quality behind these 2 for adequate cover if required at the club (I dont know so just asking).

Sadly I think the only way we can get Black a contract is if Hayes left and finding additional cash, but he would be a hughly welcome addition - although he will have other offers both in Scotland and England.

Really not that excited about MacKay getting a contract (unless he's cheap) and definately not keen on Gillet.

We need the following key areas as a priority - Centre back & striker, for experienced and proven players it will cost so I'd like to see the cash focused there on quality over quantity with the acceptance that we have to sell or release players to gather transfer or wage funds for any other positions (one out, one in scenario) to balance the books.

Oh and if we can do a deal to get Golobart back for the season too, would be a good move.

Edited May 4, 201214 yr by bdu98196

I'd happily sacrifice Owain's large wage to bring back Blackie and have Morrison as cover.

As Renegade says i think Tokely, Gillet and Tuffey will be offered new deals and i can see them being accepted. Gillet has been a bit below par recently but he has had some excellent games this season as well.

If Piermayr and Proctor leave a new right back is a must as well as Meekings has blown hot and cold all season.

I think Tansey has developed well over the season and McKay has improved but their not worth a fortune so it would work well for player and club for 2yr deals for both at the right price, the club wont fall apart without them but I would like to see if they can add to what theyve given already.

Not interested in keeping Tansey or McKay to be completely honest. Would be delighted if we could bring Clarkson up here, and same for Black (although I doubt he would come up here with interest from England-shire)

For the future, I think we should keep Tuffey cause he has potential and we could get some money for him when he reaches his peak??

I know his contract isnt up this season, but is Foran the way forward?? Lately he has been fairly poor, and rarely has a good game.

Not interested in keeping Tansey or McKay to be completely honest. Would be delighted if we could bring Clarkson up here, and same for Black (although I doubt he would come up here with interest from England-shire)

For the future, I think we should keep Tuffey cause he has potential and we could get some money for him when he reaches his peak??

I know his contract isnt up this season, but is Foran the way forward?? Lately he has been fairly poor, and rarely has a good game.

To be fair I think he's been better in the second half of the season. It's a moot point though as it doesn't matter how bad Foran is playing, Butcher's never gonna get rid of the golden boy!

I assumed Tansey would be offered a new contract - he's been about as close to a mainstay as we've had this season. I've been a little disappointed by him, what with him apparently having been Stockport's player of the season before coming up to us, but the team has been so unsettled this season that it would probably be rash to write him off and to assume we could do better. McKay? Good worker, some nice touches, doesn't look like a goalscorer, but possibly a good partner for a proper penalty box striker. Clarkson is an interesting idea - he was a genuine goalscorer at Motherwell, though I've no idea how he's done at Bristol. As for Blackie, nice dream, but he said in all his press interviews around the Scottish Cup semi-final that he wanted to move to England next season, and I'm sure he'll have far more rewarding offers than anything ICT can give him even if he does stay in Scotland.

I also expect Tokely to go. I think he'd have been out the door with Munro and Duncan last season if he hadn't had that extra year on his contract, and to be honest, if I'd had to choose between them, I would rather have kept Munro, but I'll be sorry to see him go if this is his last season, and not just for sentimental reasons: I think he's been one of our better players in a dreadful campaign and has probably done enough to earn a new contract.

If we could keep the bulk of the current squad, add a more proficient goalscorer and strengthen things a bit at the back then I would be quite happy.

Again - come on folks. Tansey was feckin playing fer a relegated Stockport County. He is a young lad and the step up to the SPL is a biggie. Just look at how Rooney faired early doors - Barry Robson was rubbished initially etc., etc., etc.

Tansey can only get better and McKay needs to have a partner to get the best out of him. They can only both improve and are possibly two of the few who have been played close to their favoured positions. Black is a non starter but Clarkson - with the TB connection - would be a GREAT signing.

Agree that Tansey can improve and I think he has done as the season's gone on. Not entirely convinced by McKay despite his workrate. Suppose he deserves another chance though but we simply have to keep the ball on the floor and play it into feet if he is to succeed. Could look a much better player with Andrew Shinnie playing just off him.

No doubts that david Clarkson could probably do well at this level. I seem to remember him scoring for Scotland once I think? Only thing is that I don't think he has played much over the last couple of seasons as he is always injured or am I mistaken? If that's the case do we really want someone injury prone after all that has happened this season.