Airdrie boss Rhys McCabe admits he wants to make some ‘tweaks’ to his squad in the January window to try and haul the Diamonds out of the relegation mire.
The Monklands men are rock bottom of the Championship heading into 2025, sitting 10 points adrift of Dunfermline and staring at a drop back into League One.
Their season so far has been beset by injuries to key players but with many now back or close to a return, it makes for a tricky balancing act as McCabe tries to strengthen for the new year, while also managing the numbers coming back.
Asked if his squad would require major surgery, he said: “It will need tweaks. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work that out, we are bottom of the table.
“But we’ve got a budget and a structure that we’ve got to work under. That’s on me and the club and we will try to do business if there is someone who can add to the squad.
“It is not always easy, especially at this time of the year. January is a very tricky window to try and get players.
“We’ve also got players coming back fit like Dylan MacDonald, Dean McMaster, Mason Hancock and other boys who have been absent for a long time coming back into the squad.
“So we are then going to be faced with a dilemma with a squad of 21 or 22, which can give you a headache.
“It is important if we are adding bodies in, that we add the right ones in.
“We’ve had about 10 or 11 injuries this season and seven or eight of them are probably starters.
“But we are hopeful and optimistic these guys are not a million miles away.”
One key man close to a return is winger Liam McStravick.
The Northern Irish winger has been out long-term with an ACL injury but it is desperate to get back in the Diamond.
McCabe added: “Liam McStravick is training. He had ACL surgery so it is a 9-month plan and process for him.
“He is back into contact training and he has looked after himself. He has hammered his rehab programme and he is looking strong, itching to get back.
“But he is one of those players that requires sharp movements, changes of speed and turning, so he has to be right, otherwise we’ll have setback after setback.”