'Ripped off' - Liam Manning outlines Bristol City's January transfer window abilities

Liam Manning has insisted that Bristol City will have funds available to use in the January transfer window but emphasised that it may not be necessary to spend money on incoming personnel.

The window will be Manning's first as City boss after he succeeded Nigel Pearson in early November, and the manager has hinted at his interest in bringing in a forward to boost the Robins' attack over recent weeks.

Elsewhere on the pitch, City have suffered injury troubles both in midfield and defence, which could provide the necessity for investment in those areas.

When quizzed on whether money will be available to spend in January, Manning said: “I believe so. But, it’s one of those where we need to look into it."

The manager has been at the helm at BS3 for six weeks now which has given him time to assess his squad and identify positions where incomings may be helpful.

But, while the 38-year-old was confident about money being there, he admitted that the club will be careful about not spending it for the sake of it in what is well known to be a tricky transfer window to navigate through.

Manning continued: "We have to do the right work, that’s the most important thing, and the right work might not involve spending money, to be honest.

“January is such a tough market, everybody is overpriced and you have to look at it in terms of, is it worth it? In terms of the return on investment, the value of the player you’re buying, you have to ask that question because if you wait four months you can get the same player for a much cheaper price.

"If we can do the right work then we will (spend money), but that shouldn’t be to the detriment of the club being ripped off.”

Manning's predecessor, Nigel Pearson, conducted stellar work in his time at the club in recouping funds following the club's spell of heavy spending several years ago and invested in young players that increased the value of City's squad.

In his three-and-a-half-year stint at City, Pearson often shied away from using the loan market and insisted on several occasions that he wasn't a great fan of signing players on loan.

Similarly, Manning said that he would much rather sign players permanently or promote from the academy, but left the door ajar for the possibility of using the loan market next month.

“Ive always said that my preference is in-house or permanent, with loans, you always have to replace them at some point, but it’s definitely something that we're talking about and we're considering," he said.

"If you can't get the right player for the right fee in January then there is an alternative to use a short-term loan that gets you to the summer where the market becomes much better to do business.

"We’re not ruling anything out, the recruitment guys like Brian (Tinnion) are doing a huge amount of work and we have regular meetings on terms of where we're at."