Alan Archibald seeking defensive reinforcements
On-loan defender Jordan Turnbull left the club over the winter break
Last updated 18th Jan 2018
Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald admits the loss of on-loan defender Jordan Turnbull will force him to delve into the transfer market this month
The centre-back was recalled by Coventry City over the winter break, despite being assured by his parent club as recently as last month that his year-long loan deal would not be cut short during January.
However the Sky Blues agreed to sell the 23-year-old to Northampton - leaving Archibald scrambling.
The Maryhill boss admits he is now searching for a left-sided centre-back to fill Turnbull's boots, but is confident a replacement will be found.
"It's definitely a frustration,'' said Archibald ahead of Saturday's William Hill Scottish Cup clash at Queen of the South. We spoke to Coventry back in December and they told us they would not be needing Jordan back.
"But Northampton then got an injury and they have decided to take Jordan.
"It's frustrating for us as we'll now have to go back into the market and find a left-sided centre-back. That's what we're doing at the moment but because we're trying to get like-for-like it's taking a bit longer.
"Hopefully we can get it done sooner rather than later.
"A new defender is the one we definitely need to get in and we'll be getting in for sure.
"If anything else pops up we'll look at that but at the moment the main priority is centre-back cover.''
There has been more positive news for the Jags manager over the winter break, however, with Thistle's horrendous injury list beginning to clear.
"Things are looking a bit better,'' he said. "Callum Booth, Mustapha Dumbuya and Abdul Osman all trained for the full week while we were away in Spain and got a game at the end of it, so they will come back into the squad, while we also have James Penrice back from his loan stint at Livingston.
"That gives me a welcome headache, it's like having four new players who have essentially been missing since August.
"They are ready to go but as they've been out a long time we will have to manage them.'