Ross County co-manager Stuart Kettlewell accepts the Staggies’ geography could count against them in their pursuit of new signings this month.
Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson are keen to freshen up their squad during the January transfer window, with the Staggies sitting eighth after 20 games of their first season since winning promotion back to the top-flight.
Although County retained the bulk of the squad which won the Championship title last season, Kettlewell and Ferguson made a further nine reinforcements during the summer.
Kettlewell knows any further additions this month are likely to depend on players being willing to relocate to the Highlands, which he insists could give some of their Premiership rivals the edge in any transfer tussles this month.
Kettlewell said: “We want to try and strengthen our squad in any way we possibly can. I think every single team is the same on that front.
“There are one or two players at some of the clubs that surround us who we have had an interest in, in the past, and clubs in the central belt have a slight advantage over us with their location and the logistics of things.
“We just need to play it by ear. We will identify players, like we always do, that we think can try and make us better.
“It’s whether some of these guys move to the north of Scotland, which we all know is a great place to live. It’s beautiful, but it’s not necessarily where everybody sees their career being.”
County’s 1-1 draw away to St Johnstone on Sunday saw them sign off for the winter break in eighth place, however victories for Hamilton Accies and St Mirren leave the Staggies just three points above the relegation play-off spot.
The Staggies are now idle until their Scottish Cup fourth round tie away to Ayr United on January 18, with their first league match of 2020 coming the following Wednesday at home to Hearts.
Although Kettlewell feels the Staggies have given them a decent platform, he knows the Dingwall men have plenty work still to do to succeed in their task of securing Premiership survival.
Kettlewell added: “To head in to the winter break in eighth position, I think we have to be pleased, but we all know the challenge that lies ahead.
“Other results on Sunday make the league a lot tighter than it was before kick-off but we are aware of what we have to do and we will keep working to make sure we achieve our objectives.”