Malky Mackay expects to have a fresh addition in his Ross County squad for Saturday’s Premiership trip to Motherwell.
The Staggies boss has confirmed he is closing in on a loan signing which should be completed on Friday, in time for the new arrival to be included in the squad for the vital Fir Park encounter.
Mackay also confirmed a player is close to departing Victoria Park, along with goalkeeper Jake Eastwood who has ended his loan spell to return to Sheffield United.
Having yet to add to his squad during the January window, Mackay is pleased to be close to strengthening his pool.
He said: “We’re close on one at the moment, and there’s a possibility of one leaving at the moment as well.
“Jake Eastwood has gone back to Sheffield United, but there’s a possibility another one will be leaving in the next 24 hours, and there’s definitely one that’s nearly done.
“We are nearly there. It’s not quite over the line yet but hopefully he should be on the bench at the weekend.”
Staggies are keen to bolster further
Mackay is keen to bring in at least two more additions beyond the weekend arrival.
The Staggies remain bottom of the Premiership, three points adrift of Well ahead of the trip to Lanarkshire.
The County boss is keen to be proactive in his search for reinforcements.
He added: “We’d certainly like to try and get another couple in, and I think everybody comes out saying they want to get some in before people leave.
“If everyone does that, nobody goes anywhere because nobody goes out.
“It’s one of those where as the days go on in January, sometimes people become available that weren’t available in the first week.
“You might be told someone isn’t going anywhere, and then you find out two or three weeks later that he’s available.
“It’s not easy to do your business in the first week if you’re not buying someone out of their contract.
“You keep looking, and if they come up then there’s the ability for us to go to Roy MacGregor and Steven Ferguson and look at it on a man-by-man basis.
“We would definitely like to get another couple in, as well as this one on Friday.”
Paton suffers injury blow
Mackay has also revealed his selection options have been further stretched by a knee injury suffered by midfielder Ben Paton in training.
Although he will learn more about the extent of the injury in the coming days, Mackay fears it could sideline the Canadian for a lengthy period of time.
Mackay added: “Unfortunately Ben Paton has sustained a reasonably medium-term injury during the week on the training field.
“That’s going to keep him out for a period of time, which is disappointing.
“We’re not sure yet because he’s going for a scan on Monday.
“It related to his knee, and it doesn’t look great.
“Once we see inside we’ll be able to look at it further, but it doesn’t look good at the moment and I’m desperately disappointed for the boy because he’s a great lad.”
