Smith refusing to panic buy

Walter Smith has revealed Rangers may resort to loan signings this January.

The former Scotland boss has brought in experienced defenders David Weir and Ugo Ehiogu, as he looks to bolster his squad this January.

But having been frustrated in his attempts to prise Alan Gow from Falkirk, Smith has refused to panic buy despite the loss of midfielder Jeremy Clement to Paris Saint Germain.

The Scottish Premier League title already seems to be winging its way over to Celtic Park and so Smith has intimated he could be willing to wait for new signings, as the links to Hibernian midfielder Scott Brown and Hearts' Paul Hartley persist.

"We have got bids out for a number of players at the present moment and we just have to wait and see what happens between now and the end of the transfer window," Smith explained.

"You can appreciate everybody's position. At this time of year, it's not ideal to lose someone unless you can bring someone else in.

"We were faced with that decision with Jeremy. I wasn't that keen on letting him go and there wasn't a great deal we could do about that."

But with deadline day looming large, Smith has admitted he may turn to a quick-fix solution for this season, until the window reopens in the summer.

"The one thing I'm not going to do is to dive into the transfer market and take players who I really don't want," Smith added.

"If someone comes along, I want to make sure that he's a player I feel can help the squad.

"If we can't get the players we want we may take a loan player here and there who can cover one or two positions where we're not well covered."

PSV Eindhoven have meanwhile, played down reports linking Australian midfielder Jason Culina with Ibrox.

Culina still has 18 months left on his deal in the Eredivisie and club spokesman Pedro Salazar Hewitt has stated there has been no contact between the clubs.

"I am normally made aware when something like this happens," he said. "This is the first I've heard of it."