ALLAN JOHNSTON has set his sights on adding to his pool in January which he says will give his squad a boost.

The Pars boss says he’s working to bring targets he has identified to the club in the transfer window to give his team some much-needed depth.

An already tight squad is missing Aaron Splaine, who is likely to miss the rest of the campaign with a broken leg, while youngsters Scott Lochhead, Conner Duthie, Stuart Morrison and Brandon Luke are all out on loan to clubs in League One and League Two.

Johnston, who last season brought in Callum Morris during the January window, is keen to bring in new players - in addition to keeper Lee Robinson - but will be patient to ensure they will improve on what he already has at his disposal.

He has been linked with out-of-favour Dundee duo James Vincent and Kostadin Gadzhalov but said they are two of several players that have been recommended to him.

Speaking to Press Sport, he believes that they can provide the impetus for a run of positive results on the back of two successive victories, commenting: “We are capable of doing it with the players we’ve got but we probably need a couple of fresh faces as well, maybe one or two to add that wee bit quality or competition for places.

“Hopefully we can get them in, give the players a boost and have a good second half of the season.

“We’re a wee bit short just now in terms of numbers so we definitely need to bring players in but it’s getting them that’s the difficult part.”

Johnston said: “Whether it’s a good spell when everything’s going well, or a not-so-good spell, just having fresh faces come in, especially if they’re good players, gives everyone a lift and they know that they’ve got to raise their game to stay in that team.

“Just having that wee bit of competition is a good thing.”

He added: “There will be players available but it’s making sure they’re the right ones. A lot of the time come January, it’s players who aren’t playing regularly or who have been injured, so it’s difficult at this time of year.

“You’ve got to be patient and make sure that we get the best quality we can.

“If we manage to get players in then that’s a major bonus but it comes down to results and we’ve just got to focus on that.”