Mark McGhee is “delighted” with the business conducted at Fir Park this summer – but insisted he is not finished yet.
Having secured the signatures of Ben Heneghan, Richard Tair and Jacob Blyth, as well as tying down veteran stars Scott McDonald, Keith Lasley and Steven Hammell to new contracts, the Steelmen boss is feeling good despite losing Stephen Pearson to the Indian Super League.
He said: “So far I’m delighted with the business we’ve done, I really am, both in terms of the ones who’ve resigned and those we’ve signed.
“Losing Pearson was a bit of a surprise but we’ve managed to resign the others we wanted to resign and then in addition we’ve added Tait, Heneghan and Blyth who all look like they’ve been good signings for us.
“We’ve watched them, we’ve done our due diligence and we think they can fit in at this level.”
The manager, who spoke to the press on Friday afternoon, outlined his plans to add to the squad further.
[pullquote]So far I’m delighted with the business we’ve done, I really am, both in terms of the ones who’ve resigned and those we’ve signed.[/pullquote]
“I’m not entirely finished, I think we need another couple.” He explained; “Now that Scott’s here I don’t think we need another striker. We have Scotty , Moultsy and Blyth now too as well as Craig Moore and Dylan Mackin all competing for places in the squad.”
McGhee added: “Central midfield we’re a little bit light after losing Pearson. Early last season we had Grimshaw but Cadden stepped in there and now Allan Campbell’s competing in there for a place so we’ll see how he does. But I think it’s in central midfield where we’re a little bit light.”
One of the biggest boosts for the Fir Parkers this summer was the announcement that Scott McDonald would be extending his stay with the club, and the manager believes the club have an identity with the Aussie forward in the starting eleven.
The manager said: “Scott is a player who is important not only in terms of his ability and his performance on a Saturday, but Scott is one of these player in a sense that dictates how we can play. He’s a boy that gets us up the park, allows us to get out, he keeps the ball.
“There’s not a lot of defences in the SPL who enjoy playing against Scott McDonald when he’s playing well, so we’re delighted obviously and it also means that we have that natural consistency to the way we want to play – we don’t have to start scratching our heads and wondering how Jacob Blyth and Moult and [the others] are going to combine.
“The starting point is Scott McDonald and we can build the rest around that.”