FOR some, it is a forgone conclusion but Richie Foran insists he has not yet decided if his time at Inverness Caledonian Thistle is drawing to a close.
It has been widely assumed the versatile Irishman, whose contract expires in the summer, will reunite with Terry Butcher at Hibernian - after refuting reports that he was a potential successor as manager - but the 33-year-old remains undecided.
Foran has worked under Butcher and Maurice Malpas for five years in the Highlands after being brought to Scotland by the Englishman but he insists that he does not know if that relationship will be prolonged. "I plan over the next couple of weeks sitting down with the chairman and having a good chat and see where my future lies," Foran said. "I had great times with Terry and Maurice here and I enjoyed working with them. It will be a tough decision but I plan on making it in the next few weeks and I'm sure I'll make the right decision where my future lies.
"I'm really 50/50 at the moment. I've learned a lot from the gaffer and Maurice, they've made me a better player and a better person but I love this club, I've had some great times up here. I would love to continue the journey we're on. We've a great group of lads who motivate themselves every morning. They're an easy team to captain and for me there is no other dressing room around like the Caley Thistle one and it would be a difficult one to leave, but I really don't know where my future lies at the moment.
"I will have those answers in a week, I'll speak to my partner, to my advisor and to Inverness. I get on very, very well with the chairman and I like him a lot. I've not really had a chance to sit down and think about what I want to do. I've been busy organising things in the club and training."
Butcher, too, has been kept busy but he insists that the hard work is only just beginning at Easter Road. The new manager took one session but has since stuck to the schedule drawn up by predecessor Pat Fenlon and allowed his squad to take a break ahead of a gruelling few weeks. "You can see the players are not quite sure what we are all about yet and they'll learn very quickly," Butcher said. "We like players to put their heart and soul into what we do."
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