ALAN ARCHIBALD has revealed cross-border red tape is hampering his January shopping plans.

The Partick Thistle boss is keen to bolster his Firhill squad for a push at the Premiership top six in the second half of the season.

But his attempts to bring in loan stars from clubs in England have been thwarted by rules and regulations and forced him to hone in on other targets.

Archibald is eager to add to his squad before the window closes in a couple of weeks but admits it is not easy to get the right players in and the right deals over the line.

He said: "We thought we had a couple coming in last week but the rules for loans coming from England are frustrating, and maybe need to be looked at.

"There are guys in England that have played for three clubs. They have played for their parent club and been out on loan twice but they are not allowed to come to Scotland because of FIFA rules.

"We have found that a stumbling block but we need to move on and keep working on things. We know how hard January is, it is difficult to do the right business and get the right ones.

"It will usually be someone who is not playing at their club for whatever reason so to find someone who is fit and ready can be difficult.

"A lot of teams have guys sitting on their benches that they would let go out on loan but if they come to Scotland it has got to be a transfer window to window, so they are reluctant to let them go if they can't call them back. That is a big stumbling block as well.

"It is tricky. But we don't need too many in. Last year we had to do a lot more business."