Motherwell boss Graham Alexander is keen to add to his squad, and keep players on their toes.
The Steelmen have so far brought midfielder Blair Spittal in from Ross County and secured Ricki Lamie, who was heading for Dundee on a pre-contract, but had a change of heart.
Alexander says he's happy enough with his squad's strength for the moment, but is looking to improve in certain areas ahead of their Europa Conference League second qualifying round clash against either Welsh side Bala Town or Sligo Rovers from Ireland.
He said: "We feel that we’re in a really good position with our squad, currently. We did a lot of work last summer on rebuilding the squad and bringing in players not just for last season but the seasons ahead.
“It was part of the plan that hopefully if we had a good season – which we did – that we would be able to just tweak the squad and try to improve it if we can.
"There were players out of contract who moved on, but the disruption or changes to the squad will be minimal this year.
"But we’re still looking to improve because there are still a couple of positions we need to strengthen.
“There were maybe eight or nine players left at the end of last season.
"We had an extremely big squad when we joined, which we trimmed down last summer, and we want to bring the numbers down slightly again to a more workable group, but without exposing ourselves.
"We’re looking to improve anyway, regardless of a couple of holes in our squad. We just need the right quality in the right positions to give us a bit of variety for certain games, tactical games, or opposition.
"We always think it's good to bring in a bit of fresh blood, fresh faces and a bit more competition.
“Sometimes over the course of a season people settle in where they stand in the squad, and I think it’s good to re-set that by bring in some new faces, so no-one knows where they stand again.
"I think you have to be able to play and train with that pressure as a player, but sometimes you have to create it by bringing in new players."
Alexander says there will be moves in the summer, but they do need to stick to the budget they have.
He said: "We'll take our time and make sure we get the right person, rather than just signing the first player that comes across our bow.
"I think bringing Blair Spittal in is a great bit of business for the club, which we did early, and there has been a bit of a lull, but certainly not in the work that’s going on behind the scenes.
"We have a strict budget that we work to, that won’t change. I think the European venture or where we finish in the league is more [important] that it will appeal to players joining a team that can win, and a successful club, rather than being able to double our wage structure or anything like that.
“It doesn’t do that. What it does is it guarantees that the club is in a good position, financially, to be secure, more than anything.
"Any financial gains we can get from being successful on the pitch strengthen the future of the club, rather than transforms us into some big-spending behemoth. That’s not going to happen.
"But hopefully when those European games come around we’ll be ready to go, we’ll have a settled squad with maybe a couple of additions, and that the players know each other.
“Our togetherness, our spirit, certainly came through at the end of the season to get us over the line.
"I think having the period together for a longer period, and certainly through pre-season, will definitely help."
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