Inverness manager John Hughes has made signing a new attacker his priority in the January transfer window.
Hughes is already working on keeping on-loan forward Miles Storey beyond January, but he insists further reinforcements are needed.
James Vincent and Danny Williams have filled in attacking roles this season, while Tobi Sho-Silva and Dani Lopez have failed to make the desired impact.
Inverness were briefly cursing a former favourite’s return when Billy Mckay, who left Inverness for Wigan in January, looked to have given Dundee United the three points in Saturday’s Premiership match. However, Lewis Horner’s stoppage-time goal sealed a share of the points for the home side in a 2-2 draw.
Chances had been passed up by Caley Thistle to put the game to bed and Hughes wants to bolster his attacking options.
“We want to keep Miles Storey and we definitely need somebody else up there. We have a couple of trialists in,” he said.
“But any money going about it has to be spent on the top end. We need that extra fire-power up there. We’re just lacking a bit in the top area right at this moment.
“I look with envy at Billy Mckay. Quite a few of those today, he would have scored.
“Players such as Ryan Christie would give us that bit of quality. But we keep working the players in attack. We need to turn them into these kind of players.”
United manager Mixu Paatelainen rejected notions his side are short of confidence, despite them being seven points adrift at the bottom of the league.
John Rankin gave United the lead after 26 minutes before Liam Polworth levelled the scores straight after the break. Mckay’s goal looked to have given the visitors a much-needed win before Horner’s intervention.
“We’ve been excellent over the last five or six weeks and we showed we’ve got some things going for us. But it’s not enough. We need results,” said Paatelainen.
“At the moment we’re not getting results. We’re making mistakes and that comes from stupidity really.
“It’s not fragile confidence – it’s poor decision-making. That’s the standard we are at. We take these things on to the training ground and improve.
“We need to improve. It’s not only defending, there’s also attacking situations to improve on.
“We’re creating chances and scoring goals but it wasn’t enough. There’s plenty to work on. There’s no excuse.”