CHRIS LAKEY Glenn Roeder is ready to wield the axe in January - but only if he can bring in replacements. The City boss has brought in four loan players since his arrival at the end of last month, and had hoped for more before Thursday's 5pm deadline passed.

CHRIS LAKEY

Glenn Roeder is ready to wield the axe in January - but only if he can bring in replacements.

The City boss has brought in four loan players since his arrival at the end of last month, and had hoped for more before Thursday's 5pm deadline passed.

Incoming calls centred around one player, but Roeder refused to allow him to leave because of the numbers - and it will be the same when the transfer market re-opens for business on January 1, unless he has replacements lined up.

Roeder clearly has a few cards marked, having been able to work with the squad during the two-week international break.

“First impressions are normally not far wrong, not often,” he said. “You meet someone a few times and they don't suddenly become a different person a month later so, yes, I am very clear of what I have inherited and the characters I have inherited.

“We only had interest in one of our players to go out on loan - three clubs, all the same player. Maybe in a different climate had I had more players myself I might have been able to let him go out on loan but it was impossible. He had to stay.

“We still need to move players in before we move them out. It is not a big squad any way, it is not a big squad with lots of experience. I would be happy to move players out in January - but only if I bought players in.”

Since City's last game - the 3-0 defeat at Plymouth - Roeder has brought in Matty Pattison, Mo Camara and Ched Evans on loan, joining Martin Taylor, who was signed within days of his arrival.

Pattison is the most likely to stay past the new year, with Newcastle having offered City the chance to keep the midfielder until the end of the season, with a view to a permanent deal.

The new quartet would have been supplemented by more, had it been a more active trading market.

“We just couldn't get the managers to allow them out,” said Roeder, “It's is the time of the year now where there are lots of game coming up, especially over the Christmas period. Even if players are well down the pecking order, managers are keeping all their options open in case of injuries etc, so players they could have released on loan they chose not to.

“I think if you look at the last few days, I am not sitting here this morning thinking, 'how did I miss that one?' There just hasn't been a market. I spoke to Mick McCarthy yesterday afternoon when there was only a few grains of sand in the egg timer to 5pm and he said there hasn't been a loan market this year, there really hasn't.

“There hasn't been lots of experienced players move from one club to another at all - a few young players have.

“I think there will be a lot more activity in January, but we will worry about January when it comes. We know what we have got, we know what the squad is now until January 1 and that is what I have to get the best out of.”