Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish is ready to spend during the January market.

"Sometimes when you didn't have so much money to spend at a club, you'd be buying people at the last minute, 24 hours before deadline," the former Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers manager said. "I'd like to avoid that here. It's hardly a secret ? it's very rare people can unearth a good player no one else has heard about.

"You've got to aim for the stars but be realistic as well. Everyone [in the bottom half of the Premier League] is trading at the same kind of financial level, all going for the same players and so it's up to every individual manager to get the best out of the players that he can have at his disposal.

"It would obviously be tough on the nerves if we were floating around 17th, but staying up is the target and anything else a bonus. If we can start preparing [for next season] in advance, that'll make it better. It's between now and July that the seeds are sown."