Bloemfontein Celtic coach Owen da Gama has admitted he may need to dip into the January transfer market in order to bolster his defence.

'Phunya Sele Sele' suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Orlando Pirates on Sunday and while they looked good going forward, the Free State side were shoddy at the back. The coach feels that his stoppers have been the main reason for the club dropping points and he is thus targeting defensive reinforcements.

"We are scoring plenty of goals, but the problem is that we are conceding as many as we score," he said after the loss against 'Bucs'.

"We conceded three in a draw against Cosmos and that tells you how bad the situation is. I have my eye on a couple of players I want to bring in to strengthen the defence and once we do that then we will be well on track.

"But I am only the coach and must discuss any moves with management."

Celtic enjoyed a great start to the season, but da Gama admits the side is not ready to compete for league honours and are looking to secure a top-eight finish instead.

"I am in a building process," he added. "Last season my job was to save the club from relegation and I achieved that. This season my target is a top eight finish and once I beef up the defence I will achieve that goal.

"Then next season we can think about winning trophies," concluded da Gama.