Ross County manager Jim McIntyre is confident new signing Gary Woods will challenge first-choice goalkeeper Scott Fox.
McIntyre signed Woods on loan from English League 2 club Leyton Orient minutes before Tuesday night’s transfer deadline.
County had been in need of a new goalkeeper after Dan Bachmann called a halt to his loan from Stoke City.
Woods agreed terms after being on the bench for Orient’s 2-1 defeat to Luton Town on deadline night.
The 24-year-old is a former England under-18 international, who started his career with Cambridge United, moving to Manchester United in 2007.
After just one year at Old Trafford, Woods joined Doncaster Rovers, but was released in 2013 despite playing 49 games during the campaign to help the Yorkshire outfit win the League 1 title.
A year-long spell in the Championship with Watford followed, although he failed to make an appearance. He has played 23 times since joining Orient last summer, but has not appeared since January.
McIntyre was pleased to replace Bachmann at such short notice, and said Woods would not just be making up the numbers at Victoria Park.
McIntyre said: “Gary has come here and he wants to play. It was so important we signed somebody who was up for the challenge of gaining a first team spot. I said in pre-season we wanted two goalkeepers to compete for the position.
“We had competition between Dan and Scott Fox, who started the season really well.
“We were left a bit light in the goalkeeping position however, with Dan deciding he wanted to end his loan.
“It gave us two days to get somebody in, so I’m delighted we’ve managed to bring in somebody of Gary’s quality.
“When he finished the game on Tuesday night he managed to get all the paperwork done.
“He comes highly recommended. He has certainly got talent and he is a very good age as well.”
McIntyre is pleased with the way his squad has shaped up, with the Staggies fifth in the Premiership having taken 10 points from their first six games.
He added: “There has been pressure to perform all over the pitch so far. We have seen that with Jonathan Franks and how well he’s done after a few games when he was not even on the bench.
“All the players have made a fantastic impact so far and they all fully believe in each other.”