St Mirren manager Gary Teale targets free agents

Gary Teale (left) took over from Tommy Craig as manager

St Mirren manager Gary Teale still hopes to add to his squad despite the closure of the transfer window.

The Buddies boss, who has been placed in charge until the end of the season, is keen to sign up free agents.

The Paisley club lost top scorer Kenny McLean on transfer deadline day, with the midfielder sold to Aberdeen.

"We still have a couple of players in mind who have left their clubs," Teale told the St Mirren website.

"Hopefully we can still bolster the squad before our next home match against Inverness [on 14 February]."

Emmanuel Sonupe joined St Mirren on loan from Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day, with James Dayton having joined on loan from Oldham Athletic the previous week.

"I was delighted to bring in Emmanuel Sonupe from Spurs, who were great to deal with," Teale added.

"They had been up to see our facilities and were very impressed.

"Emmanuel is a pacy, right-sided midfielder who we hope can make an impact at the club.

"But a number of possible deals fell at the final hurdle. We have been trying to bring in loan deals from a couple of Premiership sides in England.

"For example, one deal fell at the last minute as one of the managers decided that he wanted the player to stay and be part of their own squad.

"It's been hard as we are trying to bring in quality rather than quantity.

"But many of the clubs down south are not keen to loan to Scotland as they have the flexibility of going out on short-term loans to other English clubs with recall clauses, which aren't possible when it's cross border as these loans need to be window to window."

Teale also revealed that he failed in attempts to bring in two players with Scottish top-flight experience, as Rangers retaining Dean Shiels and fellow midfielder Danny Swanson instead joined St Johnstone on loan from Coventry City.