Inverness CT v Motherwell: Stuart McCall poised to open discussions with Stephen Hughes over Fir Park return

Hughes has been training with his former club and played in a reserve game in midweek after his Norwich contract was cancelled by mutual consent earlier this month.

After losing striker Bob McHugh and second-choice goalkeeper Lee Hollis to injury in the past week, to add to a long-term injury to defender Steven Saunders, McCall admits he probably has greater needs than signing a midfielder.

But Hughes was instrumental in Motherwell’s success under Mark McGhee during a two-year stay with his home-town team before he departed for Norwich in 2009.

The 28-year-old did not play for Norwich after undergoing ankle surgery in October last year and has not made a first-team appearance since March, when he was on loan at MK Dons.

McCall, whose team face Inverness in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League today, said: “He is a good type, a good professional. He has played 60 minutes in a reserve game for us. We’re going to have a little chat with him next week and we’ll see. Obviously his fitness levels aren’t what they were but he is a naturally fit boy.

“It’s not really an area where we’re desperate, it’s probably our strongest area, the middle of the park. Financially, we’d have to sit down with him and I think if something would be done it would be a short-term deal, for us to have a look at him and him to have a look at us.

“The budget has been spent but we’ll sit down with him and see what he’s looking for and just have a chat. We thought for the first week or ten days we would just let him get on with it and let him get his fitness levels up.”

Meanwhile, Inverness striker Gregory Tade has warned second-placed Motherwell that Caley Thistle will be going all out to win this afternoon as they look to extend their promising home form.

Inverness remain bottom of the SPL ahead of the visit of Motherwell after missing the chance to move off when Dunfermline striker Liam Buchanan scored a late penalty equaliser at the Caledonian Stadium last weekend. But the 1-1 draw represented a fourth match unbeaten at home for Terry Butcher’s men and Tade is in confident mood.

“It’s going to be a great game to play in,” said Tade, who hit his fourth goal in the SPL against Dunfermline. “Motherwell are second in the league and flying high but this is our turf and we’re going to play the way we play and even better.

“Even though we didn’t win last Saturday, we always approach the game in the right manner and are positive. We are going to go out to win the game.

“We are unbeaten at home in four games so we are going to try to keep that record intact. We’re very confident in our own ability.

“We know what went wrong on Saturday, we’re trying to fix it in training and we’re getting there. We can’t wait to play Motherwell.”