Gough closes in on Hungarian trio

Last updated : 10 January 2005 By GRAEME CROSER - Evening News
Midfielders Attila Kriston and Gabor Vincze complete the trio who are close to agreeing contracts until the end of the season. Manager Richard Gough ran the rule over the players during a trial period at Almondvale last month and was sufficiently impressed to make each an offer.

Ferenc Horvath.
With midfielder Jamie Hand already tied up on a loan deal from Watford until the end of the season, Gough has now almost achieved his target of five new faces. He had been hoping to bring in Bristol City striker Lee Miller on loan but was beaten to the punch by Hearts.

He is likely to keep searching for another striker but his attentions will also be focused on moving players out to accommodate the new arrivals. Midfielder Steven Boyack and forward Marc Libbra have already been told they can go and others are likely to follow.

Meanwhile, Gough admits the postponement of Saturday’s Scottish Cup tie against Morton had left everyone at the club frustrated.

A water-logged pitch saw the game called off - the second time Almondvale has been hit by a postponement in the past month.

The tie has been re-scheduled for tomorrow night with a 7:45pm kick-off and Gough is keeping his fingers crossed the rain lets up long enough for the water to drain away.

He said: "It’s been a little while since we played at home so we were all looking forward to it.

"We’ve not been at home since my first game in charge against Dundee and I’m keen to establish a good record at Almondvale.

"We’re facing a wee bit of a backlog of fixtures now which can work against you. In saying that when I was as a player I always preferred to be playing twice a week than doing a lot of training."