Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes hopes his loyalty to the Dons is rewarded with an increased transfer budget next month.
The Dons boss will meet chairman Stewart Milne tomorrow to discuss options for the January transfer window and, after turning down the advances of Rangers, McInnes hopes he will be get extra cash to give the club the best possible chance of finishing in the top two.
McInnes refused to discuss Milne’s comments that Rangers owe the Aberdeen manager an apology for the controversial statement they released after the Dons announced the 46-year-old was staying in the north-east.
The Dons manager said: “I’m going to see him on Thursday so here’s hoping but there was nothing different said over the last period.
“In terms of what we can do in January we will find out then and we will assess the squad in the next few weeks and see if there is any willingness to rejig things.
“There may well be one or two opportunities to manipulate the squad a bit and bring one or two in.
“We brought in more than £100,000 for Stockley and more than £1million in the deal for Jonny Hayes to Celtic.
“Some of that has been put back into the squad by paying money for Gary Mackay-Steven and Stevie May as well as resigning players for the long term so it has been reinvested.
“But we have brought some decent amounts of money in, attendances have been good and we have had an upturn in the revenue.
“It’s important that we get as much value on the pitch as possible and hopefully maintain the standards we have set in the last few years.
“Hopefully we can have a good January transfer window can help us do exactly that.”
Northern Ireland international Niall McGinn, a free agent after leaving South Korean side Gwangju, has been linked with a return to Pittodrie with Hibernian, Hearts and MK Dons also in pursuit.
McInnes said: “Niall is someone we speak to regular and keep in touch with and we are well aware of his situation.
“He has just had his hernia operation and is recovering well from that but we know that free agents like him will have options.
“But hopefully there is some encouragement from Niall to come back here and if there is we hopefully will get the chance to work with him again.”
However McInnes accepted his side’s hopes of landing Motherwell forward Louis Moult appear over with Championship side Preston North End expected to complete a deal for the 25-year-old.
McInnes, who had two bids for the Motherwell striker rejected in the summer, added: “I think he’ll move on to bigger things.
“I felt if we didn’t get him in the summer that six months down the line it would be very difficult to secure him and that’s the way it has played out.”
