TERRY Butcher is expected to be confirmed as the new manager of Hibernian tomorrow, with his assistant Maurice Malpas giving a strong hint that he may be tempted to succeed him as manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Butcher is thought to have agreed personal terms with the Easter Road outfit, although a compensation deal between the two clubs is yet to be reached. He took in yesterday's match between the two sides - won 2-0 by Inverness - from the Main Stand after previously indicating that he would not be in attendance.

A cagey Malpas later insisted he was still in the dark regarding Butcher's move, as well as on the prospect of joining him at Easter Road, but suggested that he may be tempted to become a manager in his own right for the first time since leaving Swindon Town in 2008.

"Everybody tells me it's done and dusted but Terry tells me otherwise, so the two clubs are obviously talking about compensation," he said. "Until that bit gets decided I don't have a decision to make apart from whether I am going to drink red wine or white wine tonight and whether I am going golfing tomorrow. I think everybody knows that if they get everything done then Terry probably would come here.

"Will we go our separate ways? Possibly. I have not really thought too much about it, I have been waiting to see what decisions are made elsewhere. I enjoy coaching, I am happiest when I am on the training ground. That was the one thing I missed when I was managing and if I ever became a manager again I would probably change it."

Regardless of whether Malpas follows Butcher, this was Jimmy Nicholl's last involvement at Hibs. The Northern Irishman, installed as caretaker boss following Pat Fenlon's resignation, revealed he had already cleared his desk. "Was that my last game here? Oh god, aye," he said. "Without even talking to anyone, people come in and bring their own folk - I'd do the same myself."