[move]dont ya just feckin love the pre season banter :015: :015:[/move]
WELL FECK ME - THERE COULD BE A TWIST IN THE TALE!!!
INVERNESS SET TO SPLASH ON DARGO, DODS DEALS DAZZLER
CALEY THISTLE are ready to make Craig Dargo and Darren Dods the best-paid players in the club's history.
Inverness manager Charlie Christie is determined to resist the overtures of Craig Brewster's Dundee United and will offer the pair record contract extensions.
Former Hibs defender Dods was a model of consistency at the heart of defence while Dargo scored 20 goals last season as Caley Jags narrowly missed out on the top six in only their second SPL term.
Both are under contract until next summer, but Christie believes they could attract interest from bigger clubs than the Arabs should they repeat their form of last season.
Speaking at the club's training base in Tuscany, Italy, Christie said: "I can say the deals we have put together for Darren and Craig would far outweigh anything this club has ever offered players in the past. That's a great pat on the back to the board of directors and also a reflection of how successful we've been, with the balance sheet showing a healthy profit.
"I think it's only fair that a good percentage of the money is ploughed back into the team and I'm hopeful either one or both of Darren and Craig will choose to sign. But as our director of football Graeme Bennett has quite rightly indicated, the Dundee United interest is dead unless something changes spectacularly.
"I've made it clear I'd rather let contracts run down as they do at clubs such as Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Hibs. It may be my attitude would change if there was no progress come the January transfer window, depending on where we were in the league."
Midfielder Ian Black has also been offered a considerable pay rise.
Meanwhile, SFL player of the year John Rankin was last night close to completing a £65,000 move from Ross County to Caley Thistle. Rankin was finalising a contract in discussions between his agent Tom Callaghan and Caley Thistle director of football Graeme Bennett.
[move]DONT FERGET TO READ BETWEEN THE LINES[/move]
There may be a reprieve fer Black. Proctor is offski but the Butcher is having difficulty matching ICT's valuation and Brewster is desperately bargaining. Note that Black and Proctor were left out last night and do you not just love the one line left for Black in the above P&J report.