Goals in either half from Nauris Bulvitis and Dougie Imrie secured Inverness their first victory in nine attempts against the Steelmen, much to the delight of boss Butcher, whose side had not played a game since drawing 1-1 with Dundee in a First Division fixture on Boxing Day.

With Caley Thistle currently fifth in their league, 15 points behind leaders Dundee, Butcher is hopeful the win over Motherwell can give his side the impetus to mount a sustained charge for promotion.

He said: "We are currently on our longest unbeaten run this season, which is five matches, and hopefully this will give the players a lot more confidence and we can really start to mount a challenge for promotion.

"I don't think we've been far away at times in some games this season and we really should have been higher up the league, but I'm sure a win like this can only help to kick the players on."

Having not played since the end of last year, Butcher praised his players for the way they approached the game against Motherwell, especially as they have been unable to train outdoors due to the recent cold snap.

He said: "They haven't moaned about training indoors, in the gym, or on the beach - well not to me anyway.

"They are a decent bunch of guys and I'm really happy for them that they managed to overcome Motherwell, who are a very good side.

"The players put a lot of work in, but it just showed that if you're willing to do that then you get your rewards."

Another Clydesdale Bank Premier League side in the shape of Kilmarnock await Inverness in the next round and it is a game Butcher is already looking forward to, although the main focus will now switch back to league business with a visit to Airdrie United looming on Saturday.

He added: "Kilmarnock away is going to be another difficult tie, but we certainly don't have anything to fear. We'll certainly go there looking forward to the match.

"However, we've now got Airdrie United coming up next, so we have to turn our attentions to that one and make sure we get a good result."

Interim Motherwell manager Craig Brown was disappointed his side failed to follow up Saturday's 3-0 win at Kilmarnock.

The Steelmen rarely tested Caley goalkeeper Ryan Esson and Brown believes his side's downfall was the fact they did not match the hosts' desire to win the game.

He said: "I felt Inverness played the game like a cup tie and were especially strong and determined - two qualities that I felt we lacked.

"I felt that we were good in possession and at times we played some quite pretty football, but we needed more grit and determination than we had if we were going to win a cup tie in Inverness.

"They were fit and fresh having not played for so long, but the fact we played on Saturday shouldn't have been an issue as they are professional players.

"We could probably have done with an extra day to prepare for the game and that might have made a difference.

"However, I don't want to make excuses because we simply didn't compete, especially at the start of the match."