Graham Alexander is preparing for a busy summer at Fir Park and he admits he could sign ten new players during the transfer window.
Earlier this week, Motherwell announced that 23 players would leave the club when their contracts expire.
That list includes important first-team players like Declan Gallagher, Allan Campbell, Christopher Long and Liam Kelly - who will return to parent club Queen's Park Rangers.
'Well boss Alexander needs to replace those players and while he anticipates a lot of new faces next season, the 49 year-old insists he doesn't want a bloated squad.
Alexander told Inside Motherwell : “Obviously we’ve got a bit of recruitment to do. I would guess between, I don’t know, seven and ten additions to the squad."
"I'm not big on carrying a big squad because you can have too many demotivated players, who are not close to the first-team and we'd like to keep a tight-knit group.
"But to have a tight-knit group, they have to be physically prepared to play 40 or 50 games between them.
"The recruitment process is difficult at any club that you're at and I'm beginning to learn about the conditions about attracting players to Scotland and Motherwell.
"We know that we have a strict budget to work by but we feel, with the budget we have, that we can create a good enough team to compete higher than the previous season.
There are plenty of reasons for optimism amongst Motherwell fans after Alexander's first five months in charge at Fir Park.
The former Salford helped steer the Steelmen away from relegation and they narrowly missed out on a top six finish.
Although Alexander is a former Scotland international, his tenure at Motherwell is his first experience of domestic football north of the border and he is adjusting to how early the season restarts after the summer break.
He said: "This is my first experience of Scottish football and the pre-season programme in Scottish football. Competitive games start really quickly, July 10th is the first official fixture.
"The players will have four to five weeks off but they'll have an off-season programme to follow.
"We will give them every bit of support while they're away but it's important that they do get away with their families, away from the rigours of professional football and the work environment.
"We believe how intense we work but you need breaks from that."
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