Sunderland boss Gus Poyet says he'd rather his current players prove their quality than force him to bring in a raft of new signings in January.
Poyet would prefer they demonstrate sufficient improvement over the next, hectic four weeks to negate the need for sweeping change, and limit his January business to a mere couple of additions.
"We are making progress but I don't know how long it will take, you need time," said Poyet.
"If I had not seen what I saw on Saturday I would be more worried. The way we trained and planned the game, there were encouraging signs.
"When you are coming close to January you are thinking what you need to do. The more the team improves the fewer changes you will see.
"There is a limit. I cannot go until December 28 waiting to see positive signs. So the next few weeks are important, deciding if we need two new players or five.
