PAUL STURROCK has outlined his summer transfer strategy.

The Saints boss, wants to bolster his squad by just "one or two" players - and ideally wants those new faces in by July when pre-season training begins.

"There are one or two players I would like to bring in for the pre-season and that is something I've been working on since I arrived," he said.

"I know there are some different types of players we need but I'm relatively happy that this squad is strong.

"We finished 12th with this squad and, with one or two extras and a wee bit of tinkering about how we play the game home and away, I'm very confident and comfortable about next season."

"I would really like my signings before the pre-season training, so I can have a set play that will enable us to be ready for the start."

A 2-1 defeat at Charlton on Saturday left Saints with a slightly disappointing final position of 12th after they had been as high as fourth in a tightly-congested Premiership table at Christmas.

Sturrock's squad has been decimated by injuries in recent weeks but the plus side has been the opportunity the new boss has had to assess the players he inherited when arriving at St Mary's just over two months ago.

"I have seen all my players apart from Matthew Oakley, who has been a long-term injury," said Sturrock, pictured above.

"It has given me a clear picture of what I'm looking for and I know there is two or three positions I need different types of players to what we have got.

"I do feel we have got a lot of developing players.

"We are a very young team - on Saturday it was mostly young lads finding their feet in the Premiership."

Looking ahead to next season, Sturrock believes he can improve on this campaign's finish.

He added: "I think we can certainly better 12th but, if we had won on Saturday, we could have finished tenth.

"Last year, we jumped from 13th to eighth in the last game, so there isn't much between that middle band.

"We want to top that middle band and look at progressing into the next band."