Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin insists the Dons have replacements in mind if striker Kevin Nisbet is recalled by Millwall.
Scotland international striker Nisbet joined the Dons on a season-long loan from the English Championship club in August.
But the arrival of former Hamilton Accies boss Alex Neil, who was appointed new manager at the Lions on Monday, could lead to Nisbet being recalled by his parent club in this window.
However, Thelin is not going to lose sleep over a potential recall by the attacker’s parent club.
The Dons boss said: “I take it what it is right now and not so much if things change. Now we focus on what actually is today.
“That’s the way we have to do it because you never know when someone gets sold, someone gets injured, someone goes back from a loan.
“It’s better to focus on what you have, but then have the long-term process around it.
“Then if something short-term happens, an issue, then we have to look at it that way.
“We can’t guess which position is going to disappear, but we have to have a long-term strategy and then also be prepared in every position.
“That’s why you’re building this recruitment process that you have.”
‘We have alternatives on every position’
The potential return to Millwall for Nisbet, who has scored four goals in 14 appearances for the Dons, would leave Ester Sokler and Peter Ambrose as the only fit and available strikers at Pittodrie.
But Thelin is confident Aberdeen are ready to replace Nisbet, or any other player if they were to leave Pittodrie this month.
He said: “We try to have some alternatives in different categories on every position in the team but then also understand it’s a market.
“Somebody is going to disappear, then you have to find another one. It’s an ongoing process all the time.
“You can never rest in that case. It’s not only because of the window.
“I worked a lot before, the market will change because the player, maybe your target, went to another club.
“Then you have to add another one. Just keep moving like that all the time.”
Training ground remains the key to turning the Dons’ fortunes around
The transfer window is officially open but for now Thelin’s focus is on stopping the rot following his side’s eight-game winless streak.
The Dons have picked up just three points from a possible 24 in the Scottish Premiership with Sunday’s 1-0 defeat by Dundee United meaning Aberdeen’s lead on fourth-placed United is now down to three points.
Thelin, whose side welcome Ross County to Pittodrie on Thursday, will look to strengthen his squad this month but the Aberdeen manager believes the training pitch remains the key to improving his side’s fortunes.
The Aberdeen manager said: “I think the training pitch is always important. That’s how you can make a team grow and take evolution of a team.
“When it’s compact between games, it’s more about recovery and preparing for the next performance and trying to get the results.
“But of course, you’re trying during this tight schedule to use video as a tool to make things happen more often.
“We don’t have much time to train, but the players like to play games and I think we have some clear, basic principles that are quite clear and we try to focus on them.
“When they get consistent then we can start another step in the evolution of the team.
“But first of all, we have to make sure that we can do the basics really well with what we want to achieve now.
“The culture, the demands, how much the players have to run, how much harder they have to press, how strong they have to be in transition.
“We must focus on these points and stay together as a team.”
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