BUDGET BOOST FOR STAGGIES MANAGER

Ross County chairman Roy MacGregor will increase Malky Mackay’s scope for January reinforcements in order to guard against Covid disruption.

The Staggies have lost three players during the month so far, with defender Harry Clarke recalled by Arsenal before joining Premiership rivals Hibernian on an 18-month loan.

Fellow defender Coll Donaldson has joined Championship club Dunfermline on loan, while teenager Alexander Robertson’s temporary deal from Manchester City has also been cut short.

County will return from the winter break at home to Motherwell on January 18, marking the start of a hectic schedule of games.

With the potential for players to be sidelined due to the increasing spread of Covid, MacGregor is keen to ensure Mackay has no shortage of options at his disposal.

MacGregor said: “It’s a really tight schedule – between January and February there are 10 or 11 games.

“It’s really tough on the squad. We have lost four players, so we are going to need to take in four or five just now.

“We will probably allow Malky to have a player or two extra, because we know we are probably going to get affected by Covid for the next three or four months.

“We will risk-analyse that, and if he requires we will allow him a bit extra than his normal budget just to get by.”

County’s squad is returning from a training camp in Edinburgh this weekend, before they report back to Dingwall next week.

MacGregor says efforts have already been put in place to add to the squad.

He said: “From next week there will be players arriving. Some will still be on loan, some will be loans with an option to buy, and we will take some in permanently.

“They will mainly be younger players that we can develop, because part of the journey here is the development of players to sell.”