Caley Thistle manager John Hughes knows the areas of his squad he needs to strengthen but is content to bide his time to ensure he recruits the right men for the job.
The priority for the Inverness manager is an additional forward to remove some of the burden on Northern Ireland international Billy Mckay.
Former Racing Santander forward John-Christophe Ayina did his hopes of landing a deal at Caledonian Stadium no harm when he played as a trialist and scored in Wednesday’s 4-0 win against Clach.
Hughes would also like to bolster his squad with another full back and a central defender but is prepared to be patient in his transfer search.
He said: “We are still a bit short in the squad. We would like to add one or two but it has to fit us.
“They have to be the right characters. There are plenty of irons in the fire and a lot going on, so, hopefully, by the start of the season we might have added one or two.
“If we bring in a forward we will add to the competition for places as we already have the likes of James Vincent, Ryan Christie and Nick Ross who can play alongside Billy Mckay.
“We tried to pick two teams for the match against Clach but when we were sitting on the bench it was evident the three positions we had to fill so that everyone got 45 minutes were right back, centre half and centre forward.
“Those are the three positions we will try to strengthen so there is competition for places.”
Hughes, who replaced Terry Butcher midway through last season, is enjoying his first pre-season as Caley Thistle manager and has been hugely impressed by the manner in which his players are preparing for the new campaign.
He added: “From the minute I came into the club, I let the players know the way I wanted to go about my business and the response I have had from them has been fantastic.”