The Iron were beaten 2-1 at Glanford Park, despite taking an early lead through winger Mark Duffy.
The problems were evident, as they have been all season, when the team have lost all their League One games and Duffy's goal was only the second in five matches.
"We need some help and we are looking to try and bring in some new players," said Knill.
"I am not just talking about one, we need a couple of strikers and maybe some more strength in the wide areas.
"When you look at the squad that Notts County can put out, you see how short we are at the moment. They had men out there and some of ours were boys.
"We need to bring in some more strength and until we can do that, it is a struggle.
"We are talking to clubs about loan players and I have high hopes that we will have one new face in by Saturday.
"But in truth, we need more than that. I could not fault the team we put out for effort. I thought they gave it a real good go."
Keith Curle, the County boss, felt his side were outclassed in the opening stages of the match but was pleased with the character shown to come back and win.
"We did look a little disjointed in the opening 15 minutes but then we grew in confidence and belief - and our fitness levels were fantastic," he said.
"Changing the team was no disrespect to this competition - I want to win everything. It was just an opportunity for me to have a look at some of the other players in the squad.
"It was also an opportunity for them to show me that they are buying in to the way we are trying to play here."