David Martindale has revealed he is targeting up to four new signings for Livingston after five exits so far in the transfer window.

The Lions kicked off the New Year by loaning out Jack Hamilton and Harrison Clark to Arbroath and Kelty Hearts respectively.

Ben Williamson also returned to Rangers before joining Raith Rovers on loan, whilst Harrison Panayiotou has been allowed to leave permanently after making just four substitute’s appearances since joining in the summer.

With on-loan Norwich City keeper Daniel Barden not yet well enough to return as he recovers from testicular cancer, Martindale has some holes to plug in his squad ahead of the restart against Dundee on January 18.

And he admits the earlier-than-expected return following the premature winter break because of the growing coronavirus threat means he faces a race against time to beef up his options.

He said: “I think we’re still going to have to pad out the squad because of the virus.

“I’m probably looking at bringing in three or four to make up for four or five moving on in the other direction.

“Also, we’re now coming back four or five days earlier than we were supposed to.

“The winter window is usually an ideal opportunity to get your new signings in but we’re not going to have that the way we would normally have.

“So, we probably now need to be a week ahead of where we thought we were going to be.”