Birmingham City manager Steve Cotterill is in desperate need of reinforcements as his side sit second bottom of the Championship.
His predecessors Gianfranco Zola and Harry Redknapp were given millions of pounds to spend on players and the result is that the former Bristol City manager inherited a squad built for a mixture of footballing philosophies and styles of play.
He is having to try and use the assortment of players at his disposal and get them to respond to his ideas as those splurges from former Blues managers has seen the money run dry.
Blues fans hoping their club would bring in some fresh blood to help them in the relegation battle are likely to be disappointed by Cotterill's latest update.
He has outlined the issues he faces in trying to bring new faces to the club this January. He doesn't have the money to spend, he has to react to the market rather than being proactive, he doesn't want to overspend again and it is also a tough ask getting players to move and join a relegation battle with the Blues.
When asked about the club's transfer dealings and what we might expect to see before February 1, Cotterill told the Birmingham Mail: "“More outgoings at this moment in time if I am brutally honest. Not necessarily how I want it to be.
"It’s not an ideal situation, being reactive in the transfer market, but that’s the reality. I have still got targets; people I would like to strengthen us. Not only short-term but long-term.
"It’s whether we can afford those. I am more hopeful than confident. That’s the most honest and truthful answer I can give you.
“I am still working on things. It’s what we can do financially and then convincing the lads to come to Birmingham in the right way rather than potentially over-spending and being in a worse situation.
"Unfortunately that’s the situation we are in now because there has been a lot of money spent. Not ideal at all but you can only do what you can do.
"There are a few things I would like to do but we are still concentrating heavily on trying to balance the squad up a little bit. That means people going."
The Verdict
It is hardly surprising that Cotterill has little to no money to spend after previous mismanagement and it is to his credit that he is trying to avoid that happening again rather than putting pressure on the board to spend.
It is a grim state of affairs for Blues fans and the chain reaction when Gary Rowett was staggeringly sacked in December 2017 - and it could end up with the club in League One.
Blues fans - what do you make of Cotterill's latest transfer update? Let us know in the comments below...