Aberdeen coach Allan Russell insists the door remains open for every player to show he should be at Pittodrie next season.
New Dons manager Stephen Glass is running the rule over his squad and, with several players out of contract in the summer and four players on loan at Pittodrie, there will be a lot of decisions to be made.
Three of the loan signings, Fraser Hornby, Florian Kamberi and Callum Hendry, are strikers, but Russell maintains no player has been ruled out of the new management team’s plans for the summer.
He said: “The door is still open for everyone, it’s not closed to anyone. This an assessment period and that continues to the end of the season.
“Then we can address what’s going to happen next season in terms of loans or permanent signings. This is a big assessment period for everyone on and the door is still open.”
The Dons management team have been finalising plans for their recruitment drive once the season ends next weekend and Russell says the coaching staff know what they are looking for.
He said: “We have different profiles about what we’re looking for and we’ll go into the greatest detail and do research into what we need.
“We will see what the recruitment guys come up with, but we know what we’re looking for. Up front is an area every club wants to strengthen every year, regardless of how you have done the season before.
“It’s down to identification into what the team needs to improve and what suits our style. If it’s a striker who has areas that needs worked on but we like everything else, then it won’t put us off.”
For Russell, who has forged a career as a specialist striker coach, the chance to take on a wider role alongside Glass was one he could not turn down and he is excited about the new challenge he has taken on at Aberdeen.
He said: “Let’s be honest, Aberdeen are a big club with a good history. That excited me first and foremost.
“The opportunity to work with Stephen, who I respect greatly and also coming in to work with Scott Brown, it was a no brainer for me really.
“The day to day stuff is obviously very different from coaching players individually. Obviously I get the team experience when I go in with England.
“It is a different thing altogether with the focus on individuals and then coming into a team environment.
“However, it is not something I am not used to and I have enjoyed every single day I have been in here. It has been a good challenge so far.”