ST MIRREN manager Jack Ross has admitted to his frustration at Saints’ lack of activity in the January transfer window so far.

The Buddies boss had hoped to have three new signings in at the Paisley 2021 Stadium by January 1 but has only managed to complete a loan deal for Aberdeen midfielder Craig Storie.

Ross believed he had other deals in place only for them to fall through at the last minute, but the importance of this window is not lost on him as Saints continue to languish at the bottom of the table.

Speaking before Saturday’s damaging 3-0 home defeat to Queen of the South, he said: “For the amount of work we have put in so far it has been frustrating up until now. Two or three things that we were confident of getting over the line have fallen through at the last minute.

“I could’ve signed three players on Thursday but I didn’t feel they would’ve been the right ones to help us at this moment in time. We’re working extremely hard to make sure we get the right players in because it is a very important window for us.

“We definitely need a left back and after losing Tom Walsh and Ryan Hardie we could do with players in those areas as well. I’d like a couple in who can play in a couple of different roles middle to front because we don’t really have many wide players who can play up front and vice versa, that flexibility is important to have in the squad.”

One player who could soon make the move to Paisley is former Morton midfielder Stefan McCluskey. The 26-year-old has trained with St Mirren in recent weeks and impressed the Buddies gaffer. However Ross has prioritised other areas of the squad and a potential deal for McCluskey is dependent on the budget left after those signings are completed.

He said: “I’m quite keen to try and get him at the club. In the position we are in I need to use my budget as creatively as I can. We’ve had talks with him, whether it is something that gets over the line depends because there are other areas of the squad we need to make sure we have enough budget left for, primarily that left back area.”

Ross also gave an update on the future of winger Kyle McAllister. The 17-year-old’s St Mirren contract still has 18 months to run but the club want to extend that on improved terms which reflect his status as a first-team regular. Ross revealed the ball is now firmly in the court of McAllister and his representatives.

He said: “We’ve spoken to him several times and he is aware of our position, he still has a year and half left on his contract anyway. There’s nothing else to report on that, Kyle and his representatives know what we would like him to do and ultimately, he can decide whether to sign a new contract or not.

"He’s playing regularly at the moment and we would like him to commit to longer at the club on improved terms, we see him as an important part of our plans moving forward. It’s important to us but we’ve probably done all we can from our side. We’ll continue to have dialogue with him as I do anyway on a daily basis about his game and hopefully we can progress things from there.”

Meanwhile it is being widely reported that St Mirren defender Jason Naismith has signed a pre contract agreement with Ross County. It is expected that the clubs will reach an agreement for Naismith to join the Staggies this month.

That would give Ross more room for manoeuvre financially in this transfer window but also another gap to be filled in his squad.