Peterhead manager Jim McInally has been one of the busiest managers in the transfer market this season but the Blue Toon boss hopes he can still add one more player to his squad.
Loran Venrooy became the club’s 20th new arrival of the summer when he signed last week but McInally is still hoping to add another midfielder to the ranks at Balmoor.
He said: “We’ve gone through a lot of changes over the summer but I’m still hoping I can add one more.
“We’ve had a French midfielder in for training and we’d like to do something there if possible but I think he may have his sights set on playing at a higher level.
“We’d like to get him in if possible but even if we don’t I’d like one more midfielder in.
“We’ve had to play Ryan Dow out of position and if we could get one more in it would give us competition and cover for every position.”
Blue Toon boss surprised by slow start
Peterhead picked up their first win of the campaign with a hard fought 2-1 success against Kelty Hearts.
McInally anticipated a tough start to the campaign but he has backed his new-look squad to show their qualities in the weeks ahead.
He said: “I said at the start of the season I expected some short-term pain for us as the squad was so thin and we had injuries.
“But it has been a lot harder than I had expected. Some results have been hard to take as we’ve done well but you could see how big a weight had lifted after our win last weekend.
“This might come back to bite me but I honestly believe we’ll be big improvers as the season goes on.
“We’ve got guys like Andy McCarthy to come back and we’ll be able to add the new lads Loran Venrooy and Enock Walusimbi when their visas come through to the squad.”
First win a welcome boost but injuries still mounting at Balmoor
Conor O’Keefe scored two spectacular goals to give his side victory and McInally is delighted at seeing the positive impact the win has had both on O’Keefe and the squad as a whole.
However, the Blue Toon boss did suffer a setback this week after losing another player to injury.
He said: “Conor, who scored two great goals, did it again in training with another unbelievable effort.
“He’s got the talent and it’s great so see him show that belief in training but the challenge now is to get it out of him on a regular basis in games where it matters.
“You could see how much the result lifted everyone at training on Tuesday but we suffered a setback as Robbie McGale suffered a dislocated shoulder.
“He’ll be out for a few weeks as a result and is added to the list of guys not available for the next few weeks.
Hester the threat Peterhead must stop
Peterhead turn their attention to cup football today when they welcome League Two side Elgin City to Balmoor in the SPFL Trust Trophy.
McInally knows stopping City’s in-form striker Kane Hester will be key to reaching the next round.
He said: “We had Elgin watched last week at Stranraer and the feedback was that Hester was on fire for them.
“He’s a player who can hurt you if given the chance so we’ll need to watch him carefully.
“We want to do well and go through to the next round and after our win last weekend this is a chance to try to get another win and build some more confidence.
“Tom Ritchie is cup-tied after playing for Aberdeen earlier in the competition while Ryan Dow has had issues with his Achilles so I’m not taking any chances.
“We’ll have a squad of 15 for the game.”
