If you're not planning on doing the CPL, just the exams, I recommend doing the IMC rating to gain the 10 hour requirement. You will already have 1 hour from your PPL. The IMC course is 15 hours which is obviously 6 hours over the requirement, but a valuable way of building your hours to the minimum required to start the course.
There are other threads on here about the relative merits of having a current IMC/IR for instruction. Worth a search and a read.
TheOddOne