Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says the club is well-prepared for the January transfer window, in which they hope to strengthen their front-line options.
City are looking to bolster their attack after a string of poor results that have seen them fail to win a league game since mid-September.
Only two teams have scored fewer goals in League One this season than City’s 12 in 16 games.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Exeter’s board of directors backed Caldwell.
“It does feel like compared to other windows we’re further ahead as a club, we’re more prepared and we’re ready to try and improve the squad when the window opens,” Caldwell said in an interview with BBC Radio Devon.
“We’re pretty clear on what we need to bring in to strengthen the squad, then it’s a case of speaking to agents, trying to meet up with players and speak to players and the openings that are available and trying to find out about their characters and see if they’re going to fit into what we’re trying to do at the club.”
“I feel like we’re on course, or even ahead of schedule, in terms of what we need to bring in and then we need to make sure that once the window opens we get the right players to help the squad for the season.”
Injuries have hampered Exeter’s start to the season, and they also sold last season’s top scorer Sam Nombe for a fee believed to be around £1 million late in the summer transfer window.
As a replacement, City signed Luton Town forward Admiral Muskwe on loan, but injuries have hampered the 25-year-old, who has yet to score in eight appearances across all competitions.
James Scott has three goals this season, including two in the first week, and Jack Aitchison has one.
Caldwell, on the other hand, believes the decision to sell Nombe, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the season, was the right one for the club.
“We made it known that there might be some short term pain, which has probably been heightened because of the injuries that we’ve had,” he said.
“Injuries can never be predicted, and I think you can see across all of football right now that injuries are much higher than they have been in recent years, so we have to take it on the chin.”
“We feel like we’re doing a good job with the ones we can control, but we’ve been very unfortunate with contact injuries and others that have probably been highlighted even more by selling Nombs so late in the window.”
“I still believe it was the right decision, and I believe the club is in a great position to strengthen in January and have a very successful season.”
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