Under-fire Celtic boss Neil Lennon has pinpointed the areas he is desperate to improve in his ranks ahead of a crucial January transfer window for the Parkhead side.
Sunday's Betfred Cup exit to Ross County left Lennon on the verge following an awful run that saw their hegemony on Scottish football silverware ended.
The Parkhead outfit are already out of the Europa League ahead of Thursday's trip to face Milan at the San Siro, while Lennon's men sit 11 points behind Premiership leaders Rangers in their bid for a tenth title in a row.
Summer signings Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas and Shane Duffy have come under increasing scrutiny over recent months amid wider disquiet at Celtic's overall recruitment strategy.
But Lennon insists targets have already been identified ahead of the transfer window opening again next month as he looks to breathe new life into the club's faltering campaign.
He said: “We have identified areas where we want to add and we are working away in the background on that.
“Hopefully, we will get a bit of business done that will freshen things up and, hopefully, add a bit of quality to the squad.”
Sampdoria defender Omar Colley is rumoured to be top of the list as Lennon looks to reinforce a defensive line up that has shipped 13 goals in 13 Premiership games so far.
The Parkhead side are in Italy on Thursday evening to face Milan at the San Siro knowing that their European exploits for the season are already over.
Back-to-back 4-1 humblings at the hands of Sparta Prague left Celtic's Europa League campaign in tatters after already being dumped out of the Champions League in the early qualifying rounds by Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros.
But Lennon is determined to use the clash with Milan as a spark to reignite their season as he encouraged his players to go and 'play with freedom' against the Serie A leaders.
He said: “I want us to perform and have that belief and energy and go to the San Siro with nothing to lose.
“I want us to take the shackles off and play like we can.
“We are going to the San Siro, so it’s a game of great significance and we want to do the fixture justice and come away with a result.
“We will make a couple of changes from the weekend, but they won’t be wholesale.”
