Dundee boss Paul Hartley admits he is edging closer to one or two signing targets.
The Dens manager has made no secret of his desire to strengthen his squad during this transfer window.
He has though conceded that players would have to go out before new ones could come in.
That scenario has now moved closer with striker Rory Loy set for a loan move to Championship side St Mirren.
Now, Hartley is hoping that will allow him to secure the players he has targeted.
He said: “We want to try to bring one or two in and we’re working hard. We’ve got some targets and we’re working hard to try and bring them in.
“We think we are pretty close to one or two and that might just depend on a couple of things.”
Dundee gave almost their full squad a run-out on Tuesday night at Gayfield in a friendly with Arbroath after a week’s winter break.
Loy was not included as his St Mirren deal moved closer while James McPake was also a notable absentee.
The club captain, of course, suffered a serious knee injury at the start of last year and has worked incredibly hard in rehab.
He has turned out for Dundee’s Under-20s but Hartley insists no risks will be taken with the centre-half.
He said: “We’re just trying to keep James ticking over. He trained really hard on Monday and Tuesday.
“We are easing him back into the football side of it.
“He might feature the end of the week for maybe 20 minutes if we can get a game. He’s done really well from where he’s been and we’ll take our time with him.”
