Paul Hartley reckons he will need to make additions to his Cove Rangers side before the League One season resumes.
Cove have resumed training ahead of a proposed return to play on March 20, however Hartley has lost two members of his squad.
Loan players Ross Graham and Jamie Semple, who were on temporary deals from Dundee United and Motherwell respectively, were recalled by their parent clubs when lower-league football shut down in January.
Cammy Logan and Connor Smith – two Hearts youngsters who joined shortly before football was paused – have remained with the club however, with the players continuing to train with the Championship outfit.
Hartley said: “We need players. We need a couple of players, if there’s going to be midweek games.
“We’ll have to use the group. We’ve been off too long. We’d like to bring a couple of more in to give us a bit more depth in the squad.
“We’ve got enough loans to use. I don’t want a massive squad but we need a squad that if it’s 22 games, you’re playing Saturday-Tuesday all the way through. You need to use the squad as much as you can.
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“They (Smith and Logan) have been doing their work at Hearts and were back in with us on Thursday night.”
Hartley also passed on his regards to his former manager John Robertson, who recently took a period of compassionate leave from his role at Caley Thistle.
Robertson was in charge during the 2004-05 season at Tynecastle, during Hartley’s time with the Jambos.
The Cove boss hopes Robertson is able to return to the dugout soon and also highlighted how the pressures on managers can be forgotten at times.
He said: “I wish John all the best. If he needs the time he’s got to take it. Football comes second.
“John was my manager at Hearts and I’ve got a lot of time for him. I hope he gets better and can come back, because he’s an important figure in Scottish football.
“Nobody thinks about the managers sometimes. You’ve got to make sure your health is the important thing. Football has got to take a backseat sometimes and you’ve got to make sure your health and your family is fine.
“We get carried away sometimes and you’ve got to think about the other side of it. I think we get caught up in it – you’ve got to think of your life away from it sometimes.
“We get caught up in football because it’s all we’ve known.”