IAN McCALL is hopeful of adding up to three new players to the ranks of his Partick Thistle squad before the transfer window closes at midnight on Monday night – and expects Dundee’s approach to bring Zak Rudden Tayside before the end of the month to go down to the wire.

The Scotland Under-21 internationalist has signed a pre-contract agreement at Dens Park and the Premiership side are keen on pushing through a move over the coming days to help their battle for top-flight survival.

McCall revealed that Thistle and Dundee remain locked in negotiations over the centre-forward and admits that he is still to decide if Rudden will be included in the matchday squad for tomorrow’s trip to Championship table-toppers Arbroath.

“Yeah, we’re in conversation,” McCall said of Dundee’s interest in the former Rangers player. “I think we’re still a wee bit apart. But we will just have to see how that progresses.

“I will make a decision on that [if Rudden will be included] tomorrow [Friday] and we’ll see where his head is at. I thought actually in the game against Airdrie if anything he was trying too hard and he was only taken off because of obviously the sending-off. We will think about that tomorrow.

“In the Championship we can loan players in February as well so it’s a little bit different. I think obviously the Zak thing may go to the wire, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

As for the potential new arrivals at Firhill, McCall is looking to reinforce his attacking options. If he can get a hold of their managers, that is.

“Maybe not a winger but certainly a wider player,” the Jags manager said of his transfer targets. “Listen, maybe two strikers as well – so yeah, we’re making progress.

“It’s slow. I was in all day yesterday but there’s an awful lot of busy managers because they didn’t pick up their phone to me.”

Those reinforcements would certainly aid Thistle’s bid for back-to-back promotions, particularly after the news earlier this week that clubs in the second tier had voted to reinstate five substitutions for the remainder of the campaign.

The Jags have one of the smallest first-team squads in the Championship and so it was little surprise to see McCall welcome the development.

“Yeah I’m happy about it,” he added. “With a small squad, I think we’ve got seven games in April so I think it’s good and it helps. Going forward that is good, I think.”