THERE aren’t many positions on the pitch where Dougie Freedman would consider himself well-stocked but central midfield would surely be among the leading candidates.

Even when you put aside the injured Liam Trotter, the out-of-favour Josh Vela or Medo Kamara, who only returned from international duty on Friday, the Wanderers boss is still able to call upon Jay Spearing, Neil Danns, Darren Pratley, Chung-Yong Lee, or at a push, Tim Ream.

With that in mind, perhaps it is understandable that supporters met the loan signing of Owen Garvan from Crystal Palace with a certain degree of scepticism.

Casting no aspersions on the Dubliner’s talent – which has seen him rack up more than 250 appearances in the Championship – it just seemed that the need for attacking options, and in particular a striker, was more urgent.

What may surprise some fans, however, is that Freedman agrees.

For while the Whites boss has been roundly criticised for bringing in another player with Selhurst Park connections, he insists he is doing so with good reason. The two strikers he wants are currently just out of reach.

Garvan’s arrival hints towards a return to a five-man midfield in today’s clash with Sheffield Wednesday but Freedman says his former Palace charge offers something different from the players he currently has at his disposal.

“He is a different type,” he said. “I have looked at things and I think we need to make sure that Chungy and Mark Davies are getting more of the ball. Garvs is a good ball player, he is the right sort to put in there.

“With Liam Trotter being out for a couple of months and Medo out on international duty, I thought he could really help us.

“He’s played a couple of games this season and has been training hard, so he is fit enough to go straight in there if I need him to.”

Since bringing Joe Mason in at the start of the season, Freedman’s search for another striker has been a fruitless and frustrating one.

Manchester United’s Nick Powell was one option that eluded him – but the Whites boss is adamant that the patient approach will pay off in the end.

“I have the same thinking as the fans but strikers don’t fall off trees,” he said. “And neither does money. When you look at the market there are not a lot of strikers getting moved around. There is magic wand to say we can go out and buy strikers.

“We are where we are. I have got to produce them in the Academy or try and pick them up cheap.”

Freedman’s single-minded approach in the transfer market has paid off in the past.

Long waits to land Lukas Jutkiewicz and Craig Dawson – which spanned a whole transfer window – were rewarded in the end, even though both players continued their career path elsewhere.

Freedman has his eye on two targets and is willing to sit and stake them out once more.

“There are two irons in the fire but the players are not available right now,” he said, “You could go out and sign strikers who are not what you want and then you get criticised because they are not what we need.

“October is a better month to loan players because teams are in Europe or the League Cup right now but in October you see some of these Premier League strikers coming out. We have kept our powder dry and are waiting for that.”