Raith boss Gary Locke admits his search for striking reinforcements has proved a frustrating one so far.
At the moment, Rovers have just two recognised front men on their books in the shape of Mark Stewart and Lewis Vaughan, with the latter having just recovered from a serious knee injury.
Last season, former boss Ray McKinnon utilised the loan market to good effect bringing in strikers Ryan Hardie from Rangers and Harry Panayiotou from Leicester City.
And Locke admits that is a route he may also have to go down to bolster his forward options.
The Stark’s boss said: “It’s hard, because every striker we seem to be in for, there are about six or seven clubs after them.
“We’re in talks with players at the moment and we just hope they see fit that they want to come to play for Raith Rovers and for myself and Darren (assistant boss Jackson).
“It’s proving difficult. You tend to struggle when you compete with clubs that can pay that wee bit more. But we’ll keep working hard.
“You saw last year with Ryan Hardie and Harry Panayiotou coming in, they made a difference to the team. So, Darren and I have just got to do the same.
“The loan market is a big market for us. We have to adhere to a budget and we’ve not got a lot of money to bring players in.
“If we can do, we will. But in the main, I think the loan market is the most sensible one for us at the minute.”
While the new striker quest continues, Locke admitted that he had already been impressed by Vaughan.
The 20-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing against Albion Rovers last August but has battled his way back to full fitness and is looking sharp in training.
Locke added: “He’s looking good, he’s looking fit. It’s like having a new player.
“He had a bad knee injury and missed the whole of last season but it’s important we have competition for places throughout the team.
“At the moment, we’ve only really got two recognised strikers, in him and Mark Stewart.
“So, that’s why I think it’s important we get one or two in.”
