Tokely pens new Caley Thistle deal
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CALEY Thistle legend Ross Tokely has signed a new one-year deal with the SPL club.
The 32-year-old, who was signed by Steve Paterson from Huntly in 1996, gives boss Terry Butcher a further boost after the summer signings of Stockport County midfielder Greg Tansey and Raith Rovers striker Gregory Tade.
Tokely was thrilled to get his future sorted ahead of his next big match.
He explained: “Penning the new deal is an ideal present before my wedding (this week).
“I have taken my time to get things right, but I always wanted to stay at Inverness and it would have been hard for me to move elsewhere.
“I’m glad it’s all sorted and I can now focus on the wedding and, after that, another SPL season as we aim to hit the ground running.”
Tokely has been a key figure for the club, helping guide them through the divisions and has been central to many of their cup glory days and nights.
He’s Caley Thistle’s longest serving player by some distance, racking up 557 appearances, scoring 35 goals and has been missing through injury for just one month through all that time.
Butcher, who is on holiday until the end of the week, remains hopeful that his top striker Adam Rooney will follow Tokely in agreeing new terms, despite interest from England including Crawley Town, where former ICT manager Craig Brewster has just moved to as assistant boss.
Striker Shane Sutherland agreed a new two-year contract last week and it’s expected that French full-back Kenny Gillet will sign a fresh 12-month deal.
Stuart Duff is the other out-of-contract player yet to commit his future to the Inverness club.
Caley Thistle’s pre-season trip to England is definitely on after Aldershot Town agreed to play them on Saturday, July 16. The pre-season tour was hanging in the balance after a fixture against Plymouth Argyle fell through.
Butcher’s side will also face Yeovil Town on Tuesday, July 12 and Bristol Rovers two days later.
In Scotland, they kick off their warm-up games against Highland League side Clach at Grant Street, Inverness, on Monday, June 27 and also go to Irn Bru Division One newcomers Livingston on Saturday, July 9 and Highland League champions Buckie Thistle on Tuesday, July 19.
This Friday sees the release of the Clydesdale Bank SPL fixtures for the new campaign, which kicks off on Saturday, July 23.
Log on to the Highland News website on Friday to discover who Inverness CT will be up against early in the season as we tell you the key dates for your diary.
