PARS striker Farid El Alagui has been offered a new deal by the club.

Boss Allan Johnston has revealed that the French-Moroccan forward is mulling over terms to remain at East End Park until the end of the campaign.

Johnston told Press Sport last week that he wanted to keep El Alagui, who has netted four goals since joining on a short-term contract in September.

The Dunfermline boss did say that finances could play a part in whether he could offer the 31-year-old a deal but the forward now has a few days to decide where his future lies.

Johnston said: "He has had a bit of time to think about it and he needs to get back to us within the next couple of days with a final decision."

Meanwhile twists and turns have been predicted before the transfer window closes by Johnston but he says it will be a challenge to find players to improve his squad.

He is keeping his eye on the January sales but, while he said any movement would likely be dependent on players leaving on loan, he has ruled out any of his team moving out permanently this month.

Johnston, who was cheered by teen goalkeeper Cammy Gill signing a fresh two-year deal last week, has been preparing for this weekend’s Scottish Cup fourth round tie at League One Alloa Athletic and, while a cup run could generate an additional cash boost, he told Press Sport that there was no immediate likelihood of any transfer business being done.

“There’s nothing just now but we’re still looking about; some people may move on, some may come in, you just don’t know,” he commented.

“Getting one or two out on loan, to get them some experience and up to match speed so that when they get their chance they can come in and do well, is something we’re looking at.

“The thing is though that if we’re going to bring anybody in then they’re going to have to be better than what we’ve got and it’s going to be difficult to find someone of that quality in January.

“It’s never easy at this time of year but we’ll see how it goes over the next couple of weeks; as usual, there’s always twists and turns, aren’t there?”

Johnston pointed to having players such as Gavin Reilly, Joe Cardle and El Alagui on the bench as a pointer to the depth of his squad but explained that he resisted the urge to throw fresh legs on in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to bottom team St Mirren before Cardle’s 89th minute appearance as he felt a winning goal was coming their way.

“I thought we were on top the whole game and, sometimes if you make substitutions, it takes the momentum away a wee bit,” he said.

“It looked as though the goal was coming and it probably would’ve came if it wasn’t for a wee bit of bad luck. At the end of the day, players were still affecting the game and we were playing really well, so there’s no point in changing it if you’re on top.

“We’re in a good position just now; we’re doing well as a team and we need to keep building on that.

“It’s not where we want to be eventually but we’re heading in the right direction.”

Heading into the next round of the cup is where Johnston wants to be at 4.45pm on Saturday, but he cautioned: “They’ve got some good players; I’ve seen them a couple of times and we played them in pre-season, and going forward they have a lot of quality.

“We’ve got to make sure our attitude is spot-on and keep playing as well as we have been lately. When you’re expected to win, they are hard games to play in, but we’re not going to take anything for granted because we know it’s going to be a difficult game.

“Every time we’ve played on the astroturf, especially last year, it’s always suited us.

“It’s a good surface but we’ve got to be at our best, make sure our standards are right, there’s no slackness and we get through to the next round.

“We’re on a good run just now and need to keep the momentum going.”

Johnston, who said he may elect to freshen up his side, has no new injury concerns.

Pars fans are being encouraged to arrive at the Indodrill Stadium early as Saturday’s tie is pay at the gate. Entry prices are £16 for adults, £8 for senior citizens (over-65) and £4 for under-16s.