Caley Thistle manager John Hughes hopes Ross Draper will commit his future to the club after offering the Englishman a new contract.
The 27 year-old, who joined the club in 2012, has been offered a three-year deal which would extend his stay at Inverness until the summer of 2019.
Hughes said: “Ross Draper is one of the big characters here and when guys like Ross, Richie Foran, Gary Warren and Dean Brill are not there it affects the team.
“They are the big characters in the dressing-room and we’ve suffered from not having that influence as they haven’t been playing.
“Now they are back in the fold they are making my job easier. That’s why Ross is one of the ones we want here long term and we are working on extending his stay here.”
Hughes, meanwhile, has warned his players to prepare for a Celtic backlash tomorrow when the champions visit Inverness.
Celtic’s European hopes were ended by Ajax at Parkhead on Thursday but Hughes, who watched the Dutch beat Ronny Deilla’s side 2-1, does not agree the Hoops will be wounded as their focus switches to domestic football.
He said: “It’s a bad time to get them as they need to get back to winning ways on Sunday and will be really up for it.
“The only advantage we have is that we’ve been able to spend a few days preparing for the game while they have spent today recovering and will only be looking at this game tactically on Saturday.
“But to beat Celtic we will have to be at our very best, stand up to them and have a bit of luck as we know the size of the task facing us.”
Nir Bitton, Kris Commons and Stefan Johansen will all return to the Hoops side for tomorrow’s game at Caledonian Stadium but Hughes knows the loss of their captain Scott Brown will hurt the side.
He said: “Brown has been the best player in Scotland for the past couple of years. I’ve seen him improving every year from a young, adventurous player to an excellent tactical player who gets about the pitch and his passing has improved.
“He has matured into being a Celtic captain.
“He had a decision to make about Scotland and it is a massive boost he is still going to play for the national team as well.
“I wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back soon as he is up there with the best of them.”