ALLAN JOHNSTON has an interest in Dundee duo James Vincent and Kostadin Gadzhalov but is also looking beyond Scotland for January additions.

The Pars boss has already signed goalkeeper Lee Robinson but is keen to add at least another two players to his squad for the second half of the campaign.

Reports linked him with moves for midfielder Vincent and defender Gadzhalov, both out of favour at Dens Park under former Athletic coach Neil McCann, and Johnston said they were two of a number of players he is considering.

Any new faces arriving this month are likely to be on loan – unless deals to terminate contracts are agreed between players and their clubs – and Johnston is prepared to be patient to identify targets that will improve his current pool.

On Vincent and Gadzhalov, he said: “They are two boys we have looked at but we’re looking at a few boys so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

“We’ve been trying our best to get players in – not just from Scotland but from other places as well – and it’s an ongoing process. It’s about getting the right quality in because there’s no point in bringing someone in who’s not going to be involved or who isn’t good enough to be here.

“We’ve already got a strong squad but we are a wee bit short on numbers. If we picked up a couple of injuries or suspensions then we’d be struggling so we definitely need a bit of quality to come in and we’re trying.

“We need to strengthen a couple of areas and we’re working hard in the background to try and get those players we’re looking for.”

Johnston was delighted to secure the services of free agent Robinson to compensate for the loss of Sean Murdoch, who is suffering with an Osteitis pubis injury, which is an inflammation that causes pelvic and lower abdominal pain.

“It’s one of those injuries that flares up and is hard to treat,” the manager continued.

“There’s not much you can do apart from rest; you’ve got to wait until it settles down. I think he was feeling it a wee bit and then it suddenly got really sore.

“We’ve been saying to Kenny (Murray, physio) how long he’ll be and when he’ll be back but it’s one of those where you just don’t know. It will settle down but it depends how long it takes.”

After three wins – and two clean sheets – on the spin, attention turns to the visit of a Dundee United side on Saturday smarting from a 6-1 hammering by Falkirk last time out.

While he expects a response from the Taysiders, Johnston insists that a similar atmosphere generated in the New Year win over Falkirk can help his side end their tangerine hoodoo.

Since returning to the Championship, the Pars have lost seven and drawn one of eight meetings between the clubs, and Johnston added: “United will obviously be reeling from the result at the weekend and I’m sure they’ll want to respond but we’re at home and have got to go and try and get three points.

“You get freak results like that – we’ve been on the receiving end of that ourselves – but we’ve got to try and take advantage of that and make sure we start on the front foot. Hopefully, it’s a great atmosphere, similar to the Falkirk game, and that’ll push us forward to get the result we need.

“It’s been a good start so far to the New Year and I hope we’ve turned a corner. The players have worked really hard; sometimes when you’re down there and results aren’t going your way, it’s easy to hide a wee bit, but they’ve shown a bit of character to work even harder to put it right.”