MARTIN Ling has a conundrum this weekend, one that has divided the opinion of fans.

When Town were reeling under the weight of their lengthy list of absentees no one thought to question the number of loanees being brought in. The general consensus was one of appreciation for their presence.

Now the injured, AWOL or elsewhere are starting to drift back and give the manager a headache. He has six fit loanees and is only permitted to include five of them into his 18-man squad.

Usually when the ‘good problem’ cliché is reeled out by a manager he has too many good options for limited space. That is not the problem here.

Of the six, Adam El-Abd and Jordan Turnbull are virtually guaranteed to start as there is not anyone who else who can take their place. Lawrence Vigouroux is the first-choice keeper and Ben Gladwin was named in the Football League team of the week for his display against Scunthorpe.

The shoot-out seems to be between Louis Thompson and Wes Thomas. Herein lies the problem.

They do not play in the same position and both are strong enough to stake a claim for a start.

This is not a ‘good problem’. This is a very bad problem as there is not even the option of having one of them on the bench.

It may be an issue that solves itself. Gladwin has been playing with a niggle and Ling may decide to rest him to alleviate the problem this week.

However, with Jordan Williams and Kevin Stewart both scheduled to return at some point soon - and Yelko Pino also waiting in the wings to arrive as another loanee - this is going to be an issue the Town boss cannot escape.

It is further complicated as some of these loanees will have play-guarantees written into their deals.

The conundrum will have to be solved by deciding upon which areas have the most pressing issues for the game in question.

The question this week is what do Town need more, a dynamic central midfielder capable of driving his team forward or potentially their most dangerous striker?

That is not a ‘good problem’ to have.