East Kilbride boss Kevin Rutkiewicz has signed striker Reg McLaren from Cumbernauld Colts, and says it was important to shore up his attacking options.
And he says letting right-back Billy Mortimer head in the opposite direction was only fair on the player.
Kilby have been rocked with some big injuries, with Bob McHugh on the comeback trail, while Cami Elliott will be out for a few weeks.
And with such a hectic schedule ahead, he sees more injuries and suspensions happening.
Rutkiewicz said: “Reg is somebody I worked with at Stirling when he was younger.
“I followed his progress, he became more attractive to us, and he gives us something a bit different up front.
“We were missing Bob McHugh for six or seven weeks there, and we’re missing Cami Elliot for two or three, so we’re going into another wee mini-cycle of madness here with four games in 12 days, and a couple of cup games.
“We felt we needed that wee bit more depth.
“Billy Mortimer went the other way, he goes with our best wishes, and there was no fall-out or anything. Billy’s 25, and Dylan MacDonald has nailed that right-back berth down, so to be fair to Billy I felt our squad needed to be thicker in different areas.
“We’ve got young Ross Taylor coming through who can play left-back and right-back, so the cover’s there.
“It was a deal that suited both players and both clubs, so we’re happy to get it over the line.”
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