ST MIRREN will look to add at least another four players to their squad ahead of the new season, with Aberdeen duo Jamie Langfield and Lawrence Shankland set to be the first to sign in the coming days.

Paisley-born Langfield has become third-choice goalkeeper at Pittodrie behind Danny Ward and Scott Brown, and is set to move to his home town team in a player-coach role following his testimonial match against Brighton last Sunday.

Highly-rated Shankland has also been targeted for a season-long loan move, while another striker on a permanent deal and an experienced centre-half are also on manager Ian Murray’s shopping list.

Murray’s assistant Mark Spalding would not be drawn on specific deals, but admitted that plans were in place to bring in more bodies before the new campaign gets underway.

He told SportTimes: “We’re very close to getting the additions we feel we need. We want to bring in at least another four, but it’s just about getting the right balance.

"We want people who fit the personality of the changing room, but also fit in terms of what they can bring to the team. Hopefully there will be news very soon on one or two, and then we’ll see if we can get a few more over the line.

“It’s common knowledge that we’re in the market for a goalkeeper, maybe someone who is a little more experienced who can also perform in a goalkeeping coach role.

"Someone with Jamie’s experience would certainly come into that category, but we’ll have to see what happens in the next couple of days.

"We’ve got Mark Ridgers and young Dan Wilks here, so someone with a little bit more experience who could guide those two and maybe push them a little bit would be ideal.

"It’s important in any squad to have competition for places and by bringing in another goalkeeper that would certainly help us.

“We’d love to also bring in one or two strikers if possible. We want pace and legs ideally. Steven Thompson is one type of striker, a target man, but we’d like other players who can play around him.

"In this league, we’ll probably use two or three different systems depending on the circumstances, so it will be good to have different options in attack.

"A centre-back is another one we’re looking at to see what is out there, but again it will have to be the right type. We won’t sign players just because they are available.”

Spalding was at Hampden yesterday to see St Mirren drawn away to Annan Athletic in the second round of the Petrofac Training Cup. It will represent a journey into the unknown for the Paisley club, but the former Dumbarton coach insisted they would do their homework thoroughly before the tie on August 18 or 19.

He added: “Last season at Dumbarton, Annan played in the same league as our Under-20 side, so the manager and I went to a couple of games down there. So we know the surface and we’ll do all the research that we can before the tie.

"We’ll do our usual opposition analysis, get the scouts down to watch them, and devise our game plan from there. It’s a midweek game which is always ideal for keeping the boys ticking over.”