CALEY Thistle director of football Graeme Bennett wants to avoid the long, drawn-out contract discussions which led to the departure of Dennis Wyness as he begins talks with Grant Munro, Michael Fraser and Ian Black this week.
All three are out of contract at the end of the season and Bennett insists the club will be making the best financial offers they can to keep the players at Caledonian Stadium.
Wyness left Inverness after the Highland club found dealing with his agent problematic and could also lose midfielder Don Cowie, who has been linked with English League 1 side Leeds United.
Bennett said: “We will be speaking to Michael, Grant and Ian in the next couple of days. You never know what you are going into, as some have agents and others do not. It is a lot easier to deal with the players without agents, as it can be hard pinning them down.
“We have to be wary the agent is working in the best interest of the player. I was disappointed with what happened with Dennis Wyness. Agents can promise players many things, but they have to come up with the goods.
“The agent has to get a true sense of what the player wants to do and work in his interest. Agents work on behalf of players but sometimes they work on behalf of themselves.
“We are making it clear to the players we would love them to stay at Caley Thistle.”
He added: “We will start negotiations over the course of the international break week. Grant Munro is a local lad and we would like to keep him at the club. He has done very well, as has Michael Fraser. Ian Black has been here quite a few years now.
“We have spoken to Don Cowie’s agent already and he has been honest and open enough with us. We can’t do much more until he comes back to us. We are not putting a timescale on it as he has another eight or nine months of his contract still to run.”
“They can all sign pre-contracts with other clubs in January, it is the same with 30% to 40% of the players in the SPL. I am sure the board will continue to back us, but we have a budget to work with.”