Had the circumstances been different, St Johnstone manager Craig Levein would have kept Luke Jephcott at McDiarmid Park.
But reality of the Perth club’s situation dictated that their battle to stay in the Premiership would be better aided by a different type of striker.
Jephcott arrived in the summer with the pedigree of a penalty box predator in the English lower leagues.
He left for Newport County last week having failed to find the net once in Scotland.
And Levein admitted that combining the former Plymouth forward’s skillset added to his team’s needs isn’t a two plus two equals four equation.
“Jephcott, for me, was a player who you need when you’re dominating games and gets loads of chances,” said the Saints boss. “Because the best part of his game is his finishing.
“We are not creating a lot of chances.
“We need other things at the moment to get us up the field. He just doesn’t fit with what we need right at this moment in time.
“If we were dominating games, staying in the opposition half and creating chances then he’s one you’d want in the squad.
“But we’re not making 14, 15 or 16 chances a game. We’re creating very few.
“Sometimes we play with one striker because I feel our midfield, with an extra player, works better than two strikers.
“I’ve been shuffling the pack a little bit and trying to come up with a solution that helps us to win games.”
Lost rhythm
Meanwhile, Levein knows that Saints haven’t been the same team after the winter break as they were before it.
But he’s confident that they’ll soon be able to regain their flow.
“It has certainly disturbed our rhythm,” said Levein. “There’s no doubt about it.
“I don’t know the right answer as to what the best thing to do about the winter break is.
“We were going along quite nicely then the whole thing just grinds to a halt.
“To try and pick it back up at the same point is really difficult.
“We haven’t been quite as good after the break as we were before it but I’m hopeful we get better once we get going again.
“We’re still trying to find our feet.
“The good thing in my eyes is we’re not losing. We’re competitive.
“If I can get one more player in I would be happy.”
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