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FROM BACK PAGE transfer summit last night as they desperately try to land new signings ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Hearts.

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Manager Martin O'Neill, chief executive Michael Nicholson and first-team coach Shaun Maloney, along with scouting staff, assembled at Lennoxtown to finalise targets.

The club have been linked with Lorient's Mohamed Bamba and Chelsea's David Datro Fofana along with Motherwell top scorer Tawanda Maswanhise, whom O'Neill watched score against Ross County at the weekend.

Hartley can barely believe the state of affairs and said: “It’s astounding with the size of the club and what they've done over the last number of years that they are still searching (for players).

“And I think getting an attacker in at this stage is going to be very difficult, who are they going to get?

“Everybody knows that they are looking at strikers but not one striker, they need more than one and that's probably been the case for more than a year.