GUS MACPHERSON spent yesterday with his phone glued to his ear - and was delighted that his waiting game paid off when he landed Paul Lawson on loan from Celtic.

The St Mirren boss was desperate to improve his squad before the window shut.

Attempts to try and land Gavin Rae from Rangers failed, as did his bid to sign Charlie Miller from Norwegian outfit Brann Bergen, but that deal could still happen today, after he was freed late last night.

But MacPherson was pleased to announce that midfielder Paul Lawson would be coming on board until the end of the season, after Celtic granted him permission to talk to the Scotland Under-21 star.

The Saints boss said: "We are really pleased to get young Paul on board.

"He's a player we were first interested in trying to get on loan from Celtic a couple of years ago, but it never came off back then for one reason or another.

"We wanted to bring in a midfielder who could get about the park, make tackles and is good on the ball and I think Paul more than fits the bill.

"He broke into the Celtic team at the beginning of last season and spent the first part of this season up in Perth, with St Johnstone.

"This is a good opportunity for him to get first-team football under his belt on a regular basis, if he's performing well and hopefully the move will work out well for both parties."

MacPherson also tried to land Miller and Rae, but wasn't as successful as his attempts to bring in Lawson.

He said: "Charlie was over training with Rangers and it was well documented that he was looking to move back to Scotland.

"I knew a few clubs were interested in him and we made enquires, however, he was still contracted to his club up until late last night, so we will see if anything happens with that today.

"We also made enquires about Gavin, but that didn't come off either."

In a busy day at Love Street, Simon Lappin also completed his move to Norwich City and MacPherson wished him all the best in England.

He said: "Simon is a good professional with a great left foot.

"His crosses into the penalty area are fantastic and he can go down there and improve as a player.

"We felt it was a good offer from Norwich and he goes with our best wishes."

MacPherson admits he is pleased with his three additions - he also signed Eddie Malone and Stephen O'Donnell from Clyde - but still hopes he's able to lure Miller to Love Street.