STUART McCALL hopes to discover by the end of the week whether he will be able to sign defender Simon Ramsden.
The Englishman has been on trial at Fir Park this summer and featured again for the Steelmen as they drew 1-1 with Raith Rovers last night.
Budgets across the SPL have taken a hit after losing Rangers from the league last week and McCall admits finance will dictate whether he can move in the transfer market.
He said: "I believe Mr Doncaster [SPL chief executive] is going down to meet certain sponsors.
"Most clubs will be clearer by the end of the week with the finances we have got to play with.
"He (Ramsden) is not an out-and-out centre-half, but he ticks a lot of boxes.
"He is a good pro, he talks well and he can play different positions. When you have got a small squad, that is the sort of people you are looking at.
"Hopefully he fits in our wage structure, he is going to pay us to play!
"We have to wait and get clarification, probably towards the end of the week."
With their Champions League qualifier just days away, McCall would have been keen to see some improvement from his side following their 4-0 defeat to Ayr United on Saturday.
A trip to Second Division side Arbroath tonight will give the Well boss another chance to run the rule over his Steelmen stars, with a number of his younger players set to be given the chance to shine at Gayfield.
He handed starts to three of his Fir Park proteges in Fife, with midfielder Steven Hetherington, winger Josh Watt and striker Lee Erwin all impressing on the step up to first team duty.
It was Hetherington who would catch the eye the most at Stark's Park, but his protege peers who would come closest to giving Well the lead after a bright start from Rovers.
With 18 minutes on the clock, Hetherington found himself in space down the left flank and delivered a curling cross to the back post.
Erwin couldn't take advantage, however, fluffing his lines from just yards out as Rovers cleared the danger. From the resulting corner, Michael Higdon saw his header saved by keeper Ross Laidlaw.
Watt was soon in on the act, with Laidlaw again coming to Rovers' rescue, denying the winger at close range after he connected with a Jamie Murphy cross.
It was Well's most experienced forward, Higdon, who was next to try his luck but fortune wasn't on the Steelmen's side as his low drive took a deflection before hitting Laidlaw's right-hand post and spinning into his hands.
Motherwell's pressure soon paid off, with the visitors taking a deserved lead just five minutes later, Murphy scrambling the ball over the line from close range after meeting Higdon's back-post knockdown.
With just eight minutes remaining, Rovers snatched a leveller as Pat Clarke met Jason Thomson's cross from the right flank to fire a header beyond Darren Randolph.
It could have got worse for the Steelmen, with Clarke passing up a glorious chance late on as his shot crashed off Randolph's bar after he found himself in acres of space inside the Well box.
McCall said: "In any other game we would have looked to have closed it out but a few of them were breathing a bit heavily by the end. That is what pre-season is all about.
"Overall, I am pleased to have come through it. A lot of lads got 90 minutes and we have the other half of the team going up to Arbroath so hopefully they can get 90 minutes as well."