Patrick Stewart has promised Philippe Clement he will be able to add to his injury-ravaged squad this month.

But the new Ibrox CEO insists it’s vital the club move on from the days of quick fixes if they are serious about building a team capable of smashing Celtic’s era of dominance. Stewart has finally sat down brief the Scottish media after Clement had spent much of the past week teasing an update from the former Manchester United exec.

There was good news for the beleaguered Belgian gaffer as he was told his job is safe for now. And he’d have been glad to hear Stewart also confirm that not only will he get the funds to bring in a couple of new faces, the Ibrox directors have also vowed to stand firm in the face of brewing interest in Moroccan wonderkid Hamza Igamane.

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But Stewart stressed that the days of patching up under-performing squads with players incapable of playing a long-term role at Ibrox have to end. There’s been speculation Clement would go down that route again after seeing first-team stars James Tavernier, Jack Butland, John Souttar, Leon Balogun, Dujon Sterling, Nana Kasanwirjo and Tom Lawrence all ruled through injury.

But Stewart stressed Gers will walk away from negotiations this month if they decide deals don’t represent value for money. He said: “There have been some exceptions but if you look at the January window generally it isn't particularly fruitful.

“Most clubs do not want to sell their best players. We have no intention of selling the players performing on the park at the moment and why would we expect any other club that's challenging for trophies to do so?

“It’s a very low likelihood that top quality players are going to be on the market. Even if we can secure a player that fits the profile, bringing them in in January means there's no time to bed them in.

“All of that said, there is still a benefit to the January window so don't get me wrong I'm not saying it's a complete dead loss. I think there are a couple of scenarios where it can be really effective, such as when a club has suffered injuries such as we have - particularly a centre-back - it is an opportunity to make a reactive signing.

“This is a position we've been looking at since December and so we have been active in discussions. But we're going to be really disciplined in our approach and we will walk away from a deal if it's not right.

“And that's particularly so because the position we find ourselves in at centre-back is because of injuries, and players are going to start returning. So during the window we've obviously got some injuries at centre-back but there are timescales for Balogun and Souttar coming back.

“We've got Tav coming back at right-back, Jack Butland obviously between the sticks. So with players coming back we don't want to create issues where we sign short-term fixes and then suddenly there's blocks and we've got too many players and that you know creates its other challenges.

“We are looking at this but we're going to use our money wisely. Injuries have created challenges but they're returning and that will bolster the squad without us having to panic buy. What we want to avoid is any panic buying.”

Confirming Clement will be allowed to sign up to two new recruits this month, he added: “Just to be clear I've not said that we're not doing business but we'll only do business that's right for the long-term benefit of the club. A quick fix I just don't believe is the responsible thing for us to be doing as an executive team and for me to be doing as a CEO.”

Igamane has made a stunning impact since making his big breakthrough, with the 22-year-old on 11 goals for the campaign. But that impressive start has already alerted the attention of Premier League outfit Everton.

However, Stewart said: “January is not just about bringing players in though, it's also an opportunity to move players on. Again I just want to be clear we are not intending to sell any players that are contributing on the pitch. That is not within our plans.

“We don't want to sell Hamza in January, we want him to be here for the second part of the season, I'll be very clear on that. There are other players though that for one reason or another are not getting much game time and we're having discussions with them and their agents to see if there's a kind of win-win solution there. Again that's a benefit of the January window.”

Stewart was keen to talk up the quality of Clement’s squad - but he was forced to admit that they haven’t shown that often enough having all but given up on catching Celtic just a week into the new year. “If you look at the squad, when you've got players that are fit and playing at their peak, then the team has shown it is good enough,” said the new Ibrox chief.

“Consistency is the reason, consistency is the challenge. The players are clearly good enough. You don't beat Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox, you don't beat Nice 4-1 away from home, you don't go toe-to-toe in a cup final and many would say the team should have won, you don't draw against Spurs with players that aren't good enough.

“But consistency is an issue and I've acknowledged that. I've not ducked from that so I accept there's been inconsistency and we've got to address that.”

Gers continue to exist on a financial lifeline supplied by the board and their wealthy investors. They were forced to pump another multi-million pound injection of cash into the club coffers last month.

But Stewart said: “I don't want to be in a position where we're relying on existing shareholders or external shareholders putting their hand in their pocket. That's very different from looking at long-term investment. That's something that every club in the world, bar a couple that are lucky to be owned by the state, every club in the world is looking at long-term finances, so of course we're doing that.”