Dundee manager John Brown will learn what money he has at his disposal to boost the club’s Championship challenge this month.
Chief executive Scot Gardiner, director of football operations John Nelms and the club’s board sat down on Monday night to discuss finances and are expected to come up with a figure with which Bomber can strengthen his squad while the transfer window is open.
And Brown says he is ready to splash that cash after pinpointing a number of positions he feels need attention and a number of players he reckons will bolster the Dark Blues’ promotion bid.
Among the targets are ex-Hearts and Sheffield United striker Christian Nade, who has been training with the squad in recent days, and former Dundee defender Lee Mair, who has found first team opportunities hard to come by at St Mirren.
However, Brown was awaiting news of his transfer kitty before deciding exactly who to make a move for.
“I’m hoping to be able to get two or three added to the squad because you need to freshen things up,” he told Courier Sport.
“I have players in mind, it’s just a case of finding out what’s available before speaking to people and getting deals done.
“I’d like to bring in striking options and in wide midfield. We could do with another creative player.
“But it’s a good time to bring players in and freshen the squad up. Every team wants to do that at this time of year and when you are in our position it’s really important.
“Bringing in a few fresh faces keeps everyone on their toes, it certainly doesn’t do any harm. We’re getting into the business end of things now, it’s a really big month for us coming up.
“As soon as I find out what we’ve got from the board, we can hopefully get two or three deals done.”
Striker Nade has emerged as a shock target for the club, although a lack of match fitness could yet prove to be a stumbling block to any move for the Frenchman.
The 29-year-old agreed a deal with League One club East Fife in the summer but left without making his debut due to problems securing international clearance from his former club in Thailand.
The former Hearts hitman spent two years in the Thai Premier League with Samut Songkhram and PTT Rayong before returning to Scotland to undergo surgery to clear up niggling knee damage.
East Fife supported Nade on the comeback trail although the Methil club decided to cut their losses when it emerged the forward would not officially be free to play until January due to paperwork issues at the Thai end.
He is now training with Dundee with a view to winning a contract at Dens Park, and Brown will weigh up whether or not to offer him one over the coming days.
Mair, meanwhile, could well be put out on loan by St Mirren and Dundee are understood to be one of the clubs monitoring his situation.
Brown hopes to add at least three players to his squad, pinpointing a defender, a wide creative player and a striker as priorities on his wish list, although Courier Sport understands he is after experienced players in all three positions.
Asked if there was any fear the arrival of new faces could unsettle the current crop of players, Brown replied: “I couldn’t give a monkeys. I’m about trying to get this team up.
“The players know after the Cowdenbeath game that unless they do the business there will be changes.
“They can see the opportunity if they go up the league and get promoted then their bank books will be a lot healthier.
“That’s the way it works. If you are successful you are rewarded but players know if they don’t do it then their jobs are on the line.
“It adds pressure but football is about handling that pressure and still being able to perform.”
Striker Craig Beattie has been ruled out until the end of February following his knee surgery, making the addition of a forward player to the squad even more desirable.
Keeper Kyle Letheren was knocked unconscious during Thursday’s win at Raith Rovers and, although he was given the all-clear by doctors after a hospital visit, will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s home game against Livingston.
“Kyle still has a headache so until that goes away he’ll be a doubt,” Brown concluded.
“We’ll just have to wait and see how he is. But Dan Twardzik is back from Motherwell, where he did very well.
“And John Gibson did very well for us as well when he came on.