Dundee United will hold their nerve in the transfer market as they continue to look for a striker.
While Championship title rivals Hibs showed their hand early to get Kris Commons on an emergency loan from Celtic, the Tangerines have yet to make their move.
They were interested in Hearts frontman Conor Sammon but went off the idea last week, while trialist Felitciano Zschusschen remains an option despite having returned to the Netherlands.
Boss Ray McKinnon insists there is no rush to seal any deal, even with an Easter Road showdown with the Hibees looming large on January 6 after Saturday’s trip to Dumbarton.
Asked if he was making progress on that front, McKinnon said: “We’re not close but there are options.
“We’ve potentially got another two trialists coming in some point later this week or the start of next week.
“We are looking but I have said that we won’t rush into just signing anybody.
“I would not bring in somebody for the sake of it.
“It is so difficult to get somebody at this time of year, especially the right person.
“If they are at clubs and generally not playing, then that is why they are up for loan.
“And if they are not at clubs then that’s for a reason, too.
“So we will not rush into anything and we might take two or three weeks.
“We’ll have to be patient,” added the United gaffer.
“We’ll try to make the right decision – we have to.
“The January window is littered with bad signings and you can get desperate.
“Sometimes later in the month people come available who weren’t available earlier in the month and sometimes if you make the wrong signing you can’t go back.
“It’s such a tricky one because you can wait until the end of January and get nobody.
“You just need to hold your nerve.”
United got some good news on the injury front as they gear up to the Hogmanay trip to Dumbarton.
Lewis Toshney, who was suspended for the 2-1 win over St Mirren, will make the match against the Sons.
McKinnon said: “Tosher got a really badly-bruised toe and he took an injection last week, but he’ll be fit for the weekend.”
Stewart Murdoch is now classed as fully-fit but needs match time.
McKinnon added: “Murdo just needs games now.
“He has been out for a long time but he will get another week’s training this week and be in my thoughts for Dumbarton, no doubt about that.”
