Black Leopards have the potential to reach the top eight before the mid-season break says coach Ian Palmer as they prepare to host Free State Stars in the Absa Premiership at the weekend.

But they need to solve their goalscoring problems if they are to do so and Palmer said he was hoping to bring in a fresh striker during the upcoming transfer window.

“If we just iron out our problems in terms of finishing and we can get a new striker in we should be achieve the objective.

“We are looking to bring in a striker and reinforce that department. There is no use being able to create chances if you can’t finish them. That’s one of the positions we are looking at.”

Palmer said all upcoming games for Leopards were crucial, particularly if they want to stay away from the relegation zone. “Look at how Chippa are playing, they are playing fantastic football at the moment,” he said in a reference to the second from bottom team.

Leopards lie in 10th place in the Absa Premiership standings, just one point behind eighth placed SuperSport United. But they are also just five points above the relegation zone.

They host Free State Stars in Polokwane on Saturday and then travel to Bloemfontein Celtic next week.

“Free State Stars are never easy and our home record is not good and we are playing them at home and then we meet Celtic, who are in good form too. We are playing them away and we all know how hard it is to go away to face them. So yes, we have a challenge ahead of us.”

Palmer said he was happy with his progress at the club where he has taken charge of six matches since replacing Sunday Chidzambwa. “There are certainly problems we have to still iron out, in terms of creating and finishing chances and defending better,” he told supersport.com. “There is quite a bit of work ahead of us.”