John Hughes has refused to rule out adding to the Dunfermline squad despite the closure of the January transfer window.
The Pars snapped up Stevie Lawless, Coll Donaldson, Joe Chalmers, Bobby Kamwa and, on deadline day, highly-rated Leicester goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
However, there is still scope for the Fife club to pursue domestic loans, while any players who were made free agents prior to January 31 are also fair game.
And Hughes — while happy with the business done last month — is acutely aware of that possibility, drawing parallels with his signing of the late Liam Miller for Hibernian in 2009.
“In terms of loans, we are still constantly looking and it is all about timing and playing the game,” said Hughes. “We still want to keep adding to it.
“We have worked hard creating the money that is available and we still have a wee bit [funds] — not much — that could maybe help us to get another one in.
“The free agent market a great shout. One of the best players I EVER signed in football was a guy called Liam Miller, God rest him.
“I signed him for Hibs and what a fantastic professional footballer he was. He was from that market after he ripped up his contract [at QPR].
“So, we are still looking.
“I think that we have done good business, the players that we have brought to the club have settled in well but we are under no illusions that we are in a real dog fight.”
Nikolay Todorov future
Hughes, meanwhile, addressed rumours that Nikolay Todorov was a deadline day target for Irish outfit Linfield, having slipped down the pecking order at East End Park.
“We’ve never had an approach for Toddy,” emphasised Hughes.
“Big Toddy found himself sitting in the stand on Saturday [2-0 win at Queen of the South] and he would have been really disappointed.
“He came in on Tuesday morning and was right back into training. The strikers were all doing individual striking work — he was part of it and he was getting on with it.
“If he just keeps that going, he will have a part to play from now until the end of the season.
“There is always gossip, rumours and hear-say but, when they are here, keep your head down, keep working away and give everything that you have got on the training pitch.
“That is my message to big Toddy: ‘Get yourself back into that team’.”
