Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has 'promised' that midfielder Peter Whittingham will not be leaving the club in the January transfer window.
Whittingham signed a new three-year contract with the Championship leaders in August following interest from the Premier League, with Fulham reported to be among the clubs keen on the 28-year-old.
With the former Aston Villa youngster having scored seven goals already this season, speculation has claimed that top-flight clubs will again be in for Whittingham in the New Year.
However, Mackay is not worried about losing Whittingham and wants him to be part of the club's continued bid to reach the Premier League.
"Peter has signed new contracts since I've been at the club, in the summer signing a new long-term deal with Cardiff City, outlining his ambitions for this football club," said Mackay.
"It's nice when clubs take interest in your players, but he's certainly not going to be going anywhere in January, that's a promise.
"I was very strong in my views to our owners in terms of us building a team to challenge and for that our best players need to be here, of which Whitts falls into that category.
"But at the same time he's got to feel it's the right environment for him, to feel wanted and to be enjoying his football as a part of something that's growing. That was something I was keen to show him was certainly the case."
Billy McKay's second-half strike against the champions was enough to give Caley their first league win at Celtic Park and Butcher's first victory as a manager in the east end of Glasgow.
However, next up are the second-placed Dons who can leapfrog Celtic at the top of the table with a win, albeit the Hoops would have two games in hand, one against Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday night.
A win for the fifth-placed visitors could take them level on points with Neil Lennon's side but Caley boss Butcher is looking only at getting his players in the right frame of mind.
He said: "We are looking forward to the Aberdeen game now and we want to make sure all those thoughts about Celtic have gone.
"It is nice to think back about Celtic and what we have achieved but that's history now.
"Sometimes when you have a big match against someone like Aberdeen at Pittodrie very quickly, you have to re-focus very quickly and make sure that you give the match 100% concentration.
"It is a top-of-the-table clash again, Aberdeen are going well, they have had certainly had some great results and scored some goals as well.
"It is very impressive how Aberdeen have changed their fortunes round, the same as Hibs.
"It is a great challenge and a great test to go through there.
"What we have done is pretty impressive but now it is a case of rolling up our sleeves and doing the job that we have been doing virtually all season.
"But in saying that, we won there with 10 men last year, we have won there before so we want to make good memories this week.
"We have Ross County at the weekend, so it is a big week for us but we have started it very well."
Butcher is happy with his side's progress this season
-not least because Caley are the league's top scorers with 28 goals from 15 matches - but he will not let his players "rest on their laurels".
The former Motherwell boss said: "The squad is developing nicely, we have had one defeat in 12 matches.
"We have scored in every game and as I said, if we score it gives us something to hang on to or build upon.
"But we want to get higher so I don't think there is any danger of players resting on their laurels and saying we have done pretty well.
"The time to enjoy what you have done is at the end of the season.
"The players want more, even though we won at Celtic Park we want to get better."
Victory over Inverness on Tuesday night would allow the Dons to leapfrog Celtic to the summit, ahead of the Hoops' own game against Hearts on Wednesday night.
Having struggled at the wrong end of the table in previous seasons, Brown is now relishing the challenge of ensuring Aberdeen remain one of the top forces this term.
He said: "It would be great for the fans to find their team, and our team, at the top of the league.
"That would be my wish for them for Christmas but we've got to win to ensure that we're there and it will be a very difficult game.
"Inverness will be feeling the same, it's a great chance for them too.
"At the weekend, we were saying if we could win the game, we would go second.
"We managed to overcome that challenge and now there's another one.
"These are the kind of challenges we thrive on and that the players should thrive on."
Brown has a number of injury concerns ahead of the visit of the Highlanders and is wary of the threat posed by a side who defeated Celtic at the weekend.
He said: "Even with our full strength squad, Inverness constitute a real challenge.
"They're playing very well, they have been to Glasgow and won at Ibrox and Celtic Park this season so another 'trophy' would be a victory at Pittodrie.
"We intend to make sure they don't get that but it will be a hard game.
"We always go out thinking we can win a game.
"Even with a depleted squad I think people will acknowledge we've got good resources and it's a great chance for the guys who come in to stand up to the challenge.
"It's a great incentive to win the game and to go to the top but I don't want to build the expectation up too much.
"There is a danger when there is expectation that we don't fulfil that.
"So what we'll do is go out and try our best to win this football match, as we do in every game."
On the prospect of bolstering his squad in January, the Dons boss said: "We are always on the look-out, we haven't closed the door on the possible acquisition of players.
"To be fair, we'd have to consider saying to one or two that they could go.
"We are looking, believe me. We will never stop trying to improve the team."
One player who could be heading for the Pittodrie exit door is out of favour goalkeeper Jason Brown, who has been told he can leave for free.
Brown added: "Duncan [Fraser, chief executive], in consultation with the chairman and board, has told me if he gets a club and he wants to go, they will not look for any payment from the new club.
"I think that's generous. To waive these conditions and allow him to go as a free agent is very generous of the club."
The 10th-placed Highlanders want to bounce back from a 2-1 home defeat to Dundee United at the weekend as their stuttering SPL form continues following a solid start to the season.
The Buddies are on a high following their 3-1 win over Dundee which brought to an end their six-game losing streak in the league and victory for Danny Lennon's side will see them leapfrog their hosts.
County boss Adams acknowledged an unusual SPL table which sees 10 points separating the top 11 sides as he hopes to move further away from Saints and bottom side Dundee.
He said: "It is the nature of the league. It is very tight and we have teams who can move up and down the league quite quickly. We are still sitting in a very good position and we are not far off the top half of the table.
"We have a different idea here. We are just up from the First Division and our main focus is to stay in the Premier League and we will try to do that.
"We have had an excellent start to the season but we will take it one game at a time, we have always been able to do that.
"St Mirren coming up here is a good game for us, they have come off a positive result against Dundee and so we are looking forward to it."
There was certainly plenty to talk about when the two sides met in Paisley in September, when Saints won by the odd goal in nine .
Adams added: "We played very well in the first half, we were 2-1 up at half-time and in total control of the game.
"They picked up a soft penalty kick just after half-time to make it 2-2 and that affected us.
"Being at home they got a lift from that and made it 4-2, eventually we got it back to 4-4 and then they scored with a very fortunate goal at the end.
"It was a good game but hopefully we are on the right side of the scoreline tomorrow night."
Lennon said he would "do the honourable thing" and go if fans were not happy with him.
The comments came after a heated argument with several supporters during and immediately after the SPL loss at Parkhead.
But Mulgrew believes the remonstrations and Lennon's subsequent threat only show how much the club means to him and fans.
Mulgrew, whose side take on Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday, said: "I think it is heat of the moment. Maybe they caught him straight after the game or whatever, with tempers running high it is something you say.
"But I don't think the manager will be leaving, he is right behind the cause here."
Celtic were booed off after the defeat, which left them with one point from their last three SPL games at Celtic Park, where Barcelona were humbled earlier in the month in the Champions League.
"When things aren't going right the fans obviously care and it shows in the way they supported us in Barcelona and in different games this season," Mulgrew said.
"It is just heat of the moment and I don't think there is anything to be taken from it to be honest.
"Of course they pay their money and they come to watch the match, nobody says they can't have their views on what is happening.
"It show what passion the fans have and the manager as well."
