Stephen Baxter talking to 'six, seven, eight players' as Carrick Rangers plot January transfer moves
Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter admits he has been talking to “six, seven, eight players” as the Taylors Avenue outfit aim to strengthen their squad during the January transfer window – but he’s only interested in those looking to join “for the right reasons”.
A number of Premiership clubs have already been active in the opening days of January with the likes of Coleraine, Portadown and Glenavon all making moves, and Baxter anticipates Carrick will also be busy this month.
The Carrick chief is currently dealing with injuries to several key players with Kyle Cherry set to miss a number of weeks with a hamstring issue while Nathan Gartside limped off during their 2-2 draw against Crusaders on Tuesday.
Former Glentoran midfielder Seanan Clucas is awaiting the results of scans to determine the severity of a knee injury having only returned in November after missing the opening four months of the current campaign.
Jack Scott, who scored four league goals for Carrick this term, has been recalled from his loan spell by parent club Coleraine.
Carrick enter Saturday’s home showdown with Glentoran sitting 11th, seven points ahead of basement club Glenavon and with three matches in hand, as they look to climb clear of relegation threat.
Eight of Carrick’s 11 Premiership defeats this term have been by only a single goal and they’ve conceded the same number (32) as Dungannon Swifts, who occupy fourth position.
As Baxter looks to continue being competitive, the former Crusaders chief is looking to the market and admits the work of identifying targets started weeks ago.
"The work has been constant in the last four to six weeks,” Baxter told the club’s media channel. “We have six, seven, eight players we're talking to, we're meeting one or two players, I can't say who they are or what they're about for various reasons.
"However, we need to bring a few fresh faces in who are going to help us, they need to be of the standard we require, and we will see what the next few weeks brings.
"The difficulty in this market is it's not just us chasing them, they've four or five other options as well and that's the difficulty.
"We will stay with the process. I want people to be here for the right reasons, I want them to be here because they want to play for Carrick Rangers.
"I don't want people just freeloading, they need to come in and drive it over the line which is what is already happening with all the others.
"They are playing the shirts off their back and I won't have people coming for the wrong reasons. I want people who will play with pride and try to deliver for us because that's what we're about."