ALEX RAE is targeting up to ten new arrivals in Paisley this summer as he looks to overhaul his St Mirren squad for another crack at promotion from the Championship.

The Buddies rounded off their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Rangers on Sunday as they moved above Queen of the South to clinch a sixth place finish this term.

Goals from Calum Gallagher and Lewis Morgan were enough to earn the Saints a point as the home crowd said a fond farewell to Jim Goodwin and Steven Thompson.

And boss Rae was pleased to end the season on a high note as he looks to quickly get back to down to work to bolster his squad in the coming weeks.

He said: “We dug in. It was a difficult game for us because of the way Rangers play. It is very demanding and that showed in their second goal.

“We were treading water at that time but the response was brilliant and it was a great finale for us.

“We are letting 13 players go, so the real hard work starts now in trying to identify players who are going to enhance the squad.

“We’ll be trying to bring in nine or ten, so we have to get work done sooner rather than later.

“It’ll be just as hard next season because it looks like Dundee United will be in this league with two of either Hibs, Falkirk, Raith and possibly Kilmarnock. Also, Dunfermline will be a tough proposition. It won’t be any easier.”

It looked like Rangers would end their winless run when Kenny Miller and Jason Holt netted to cancel out Gallagher’s first half opener at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

But Buddies kid Morgan fired home from the edge of the area with just seconds remaining to earn the Saints a share of the spoils.

Rae said: “The great thing about Lewis Morgan is that he had a bad injury but he has gone about his business in the gymnasium and has a physicality now. That helped him with his goal and I’m delighted for him.”