Ross County could visit Celtic with just one fit centre back as Derek Adams admits injury crisis could change transfer plans before window closes
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Ross County are facing a defensive injury crisis – with manager Derek Adams admitting it could force a change of strategy in the transfer market before the window shuts.
The Staggies had no central defenders in training in the early part of the week, with Jack Baldwin, Will Nightingale, Ryan Leak and Dylan Smith all out injured.
While Nightingale should be fit for the weekend, there is a chance he is the only natural centre back that is, leaving Adams with a defensive headache going into one of their toughest games of the season away at Celtic.
County's manager had previously revealed that the club were close to two loan deals that would see them max out their allocation of seven.
However, he has conceded that plans may have to change before the transfer deadline on February 1 to bolster the club's options at the back.
“At this moment in time we don’t have any centre halves," Adams admitted.
"That’s how difficult it is as a manager. It’s quite easy from the outside to look at things and say ‘how can you not do this and that’ but if you’ve got a plan in place, and you don’t have the tools to do it, you can’t do the job.
“It is about patching things together and trying to pick a starting 11. At this moment in time, we can’t do things we would want to do because we don’t have the personnel to do it.
“We don’t have any centre halves at this moment in time, although Will Nightingale will be fit (to face Celtic).
“It has slightly (changed transfer plans). We’ll have to negate one other position to take in somebody else. We have to do that – we’ve no choice at this moment in time.
“We are still trying to bring players in. We are speaking to clubs and we are hopeful of doing that before Saturday.
“People will ask why is this manager signing loan deals – the plain and simple thing is we have seven players on two and-a-half year contracts and 16 players on one and-a-half year contracts.
“If I take in seven players on permanent contracts, it works out that we have 23 players signed up for next season. Then we’ve got no scope to move."
