Plymouth Argyle head coach Tom Cleverley has defended the club’s decision not to sign another striker.
The Pilgrims opted to bring in defender Wes Harding and midfielder Herbie Kane on deadline day, having signed winger Ronan Curtis earlier in the January transfer window.
But Argyle are likely to be without top scorer Lorent Tolaj for at least two more games as he recovers from a dead leg.
The Swiss forward, who has scored 15 goals for Argyle this season, has missed the past two games after being hurt against Luton Town almost a fortnight ago.
Understudy Bim Pepple has impressed in recent weeks, with three goals in his past five games, while Owen Oseni is returning to fitness.
“I think the form of Bim and the form of Owen pre-injury has proved that they’re the strikers for the here and now,” Cleverley said.
“We brought them to the club to develop and to be sort of fringe players and future number nines, starting number nines.
“But they’ve both proved they’re capable of doing the job now and their form, along with, I do see Caleb Watts being able to play that sort of hybrid nine or 10 role in a 4-4-2, then there’s your four [with Tolaj].
“The squad size and the finances mean that, of course in every area of pitch you’re trying to bring in the highest quality you possibly can, but for a number nine finance is a big issue when you’re going to improve on what we’ve got as a really successful strikeforce at the minute.”
