Inverness CT 0 - 0 St Mirren: No contact from Celtic for Jonny Hayes, insists Terry Butcher

The 24-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, is understood to be wanted by Celtic after impressing with Inverness since joining the club from Leicester in 2009.

Hayes, who could not inspire Caley Thistle to victory on Saturday as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by St Mirren, is currently in talks with the Highland Capital club about a new deal, but Celtic mare believed to be considering a swoop for the Irishman before tomorrow’s transfer deadline.

Should a move to Parkhead materialise, he could be the second player to depart Inverness in the January window with Lee Cox close to joining npower League Two promotion-chasers Swindon for a fee believed to be close to six figures, according to Caley Thistle manager Butcher.

He said: “We have agreed a fee with Swindon for Lee and the deal should be completed by Monday. As far as Jonny Hayes is concerned, I’ve had no contact with Celtic whatsoever. Nothing has been said to me. I’ve had a good chat with Jonny about everything and he’s very focused on what he’s doing for Caley Thistle.”

For all Caley Thistle’s chances in the second half, St Mirren manager Danny Lennon maintained his side deserved to leave Inverness with a point to show for their efforts. He said: “In the first-half, we created three or four good chances. I felt we had control of the midfield but Caley Thistle are a threat going forward and you can see the physicality of them when they are taking strong players off and replacing them with even bigger lads.

“However, we had asked the boys before the game to get back into an unbreakable mentality of defending well and I thought we handled that side of the game terrifically.

“We did not have anything like as clearcut as a shot coming off the post as Inverness did, but I think in the end a draw was probably a fair result.”