Ross County co-manager Steven Ferguson is not expecting wholesale changes to the Staggies squad this summer.
Promotion back to the Premiership was achieved last month and Ferguson is happy with the squad they have in place, with recruitment last year geared towards players who aspired to play top-flight football.
Joe Chalmers has arrived from Caley Thistle and Blair Spittal, who spent this season at Partick Thistle, is reportedly another target. Goalkeeper Scott Fox has left the club after four years while defender Andy Boyle has returned to Preston North End after his loan spell.
The onus has been on retaining the bulk of the current squad, with Michael Gardyne, Declan McManus, Marcus Fraser and Ross Draper all penning extensions in the past week. Further announcements are planned for the coming days and Ferguson insists the foundations for this summer were laid a year ago.
He said: “When we did our recruitment last year, the plan was to get straight back into the Premiership. But we also wanted players who wanted the opportunity to prove themselves in the Premiership and we recruited with that in mind.
“We’re certainly ahead of where we were last year. It’s where it should be; a lot of the players are under contract, so they aren’t going anywhere. It’s just re-negotiating one or two things. Ross Draper was another one ticked off and hopefully we’ll have a couple more in the coming days. With people being away and needing to talk to agents, it just takes a little bit longer than we would like.”
Ferguson and fellow co-boss Kettlewell are still discussing their options over goalkeeping recruitment, with Fox’s departure and the plan to allow teenager Ross Munro out on loan to get game-time.
Ferguson added: “The priority is to bring in another couple of goalkeepers. Scott Fox has been excellent and it (leaving) wasn’t in the plan. But we have to move on from that and get another couple in.”