Elgin City player-manager Ross Draper is closing in on his first permanent signing of the summer.
Draper, who took charge at Borough Briggs at the end of last season, has added three loan signings so far.
Aberdeen pair Liam Harvey and Blair McKenzie, along with Ross County winger Ryan MacLeman, have all started both Viaplay Cup Group G fixtures against Motherwell and East Fife.
Draper has revealed he hopes to add a permanent signing in time for Saturday’s visit of League One side Queen of the South, with another loan arrival potentially coming in next week.
The Elgin boss said: “In the next couple of weeks before Stranraer we have a couple of things we want to push.
“We are starting to get where we want to be. With injured boys coming back, such as Matthew Cooper and Jake Dolzanski who have been out for a long time, they will be like new signings.
“Hopefully there’s a couple more to come in, and we can get ourselves more ready for Stranraer.
“A few more extra bodies in will make us look a bit healthier.”
City building up for Stranraer opener
Elgin are all but out of contention to qualify from their group, having lost 2-0 to Premiership side Motherwell on Saturday before going down 3-1 at League Two rivals East Fife on Tuesday.
Following the visit of the Doonhamers this weekend, Elgin play their final group fixture away to Queen’s Park on Tuesday.
Draper is keen to take the chance to shuffle his squad, with his primary focus on the league opener at home to Stranraer on August 5.
He added: “I said to the boys that not everyone will play every game. We have four games, Saturday to Tuesday, so we will rotate the boys. A couple of the younger boys have been involved.
“It was a good test against East Fife to find out where we are at. I thought our performance was good as a whole, but there is obviously stuff to work on. It was sloppy in terms of goals we gave away.
“It was two completely different games. Motherwell was one where we had to sit in and contain a little bit, and try to restrict them as much as possible.
“I thought we played some good stuff at East Fife. It was mistakes that cost us, and we got punished.
“It’s something we need to take out, but as a whole it was a good exercise.”
Queen of the South provide another full-time test
Draper is looking to make the most of the test against Marvin Bartley’s side, who drew with Motherwell on Tuesday before going on to lose the bonus point shoot-out.
Draper added: “They had a good result against Motherwell, so we will look into what they are about.
“It’s a good test for the boys, stepping up. That will be Inverness, Queen of the South and Motherwell who are all higher teams that can cause us problems.
“It’s a good chance to compete against boys at a higher level.
“It’s a freebie for the boys, and a chance for them to push for starting 11 places at Stranraer. That was the message after the game on Tuesday.”