Nigel Pearson has hinted he will prioritise signing a defender despite Tyreeq Bakinson's departure to Ipswich leaving the Robins potentially short in central midfield.
The Bristol City manager confirmed he is hoping to bring one or two players in before the transfer window shuts on January 31 but repeated the difficulties of concluding deals on a stringent budget.
Bakinson's future was the hot topic of conversation after Pearson confirmed he was eager to let the 23-year-old leave Ashton Gate because the player had no desire to play for the club.
With a loan move to Ipswich completed, City could be left short of options particularly in defensive midfield with Andy King, Matty James, Joe Williams and Han-Noah Massengo the only senior options in the middle of the park.
Question marks linger over the long-term fitness of King and James who have 18 Championship appearances between them this season while Massengo remains in a development phase and needs one of the veteran duo alongside him.
But if push came to shove, Pearson would rather bolster his backline following the revelation earlier this week that Nathan Baker has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
"Clearly at the moment we're short on defensive positions," Pearson said, having experimented with Cam Pring as a left-sided centre-back over the last two matches.
"The midfield isn't as high priority as other areas and we've talked about, I think the hot topic amongst our fanbase is the striker position but that's not imminent.
"It (Bakinson) only happened last night so hopefully Matty James will be back relatively soon. As I've pointed out before, I would rather run with the players we have rather than those who don't want to be here or get added numbers in for numbers' sake.
"It'd be good to get a player or two players in but we'll have to wait and see. We've just not been in a position to do business and that's the bottom line."
City's defensive record does not make pretty reading having conceded 45 goals in 26 games. It's the third-worst record in the Championship behind Peterborough and Reading who have shipped in 48 and 47 respectively.
It is believed Pearson was initially chasing a striker in the summer and at the beginning of the January window but Antoine Semenyo's form has instilled confidence that City can see out the season with their current crop of forwards also including top-scorer Andi Weimann, Chris Martin, Nahki Wells and young forwards Tommy Conway and Sam Bell.
"Any decision we make in terms of bringing people into the football club will be dependant on whether it'll be a short term or long term addition and clearly the cost will be a huge element for us at the moment," added Pearson.
"I'm not trying to do anything but just say it how it is. It's not easy and it's not stopping us from exploring different avenues."
City were linked with a move for Wolves centre-back Dion Sanderson in the week but Bristol Live understands the club have no interest in pursuing the player.
Pearson reiterated once again on Thursday that he would prefer not to exploit the loan market because of the costs of signing a player temporarily.
He added: "It can be very expensive. We're not in the position to pay loan fees or big wages for players who are unproven so I think there is this concept that it's easy to go out and get loan players.
"It's not the case. I don't guarantee anyone is going to play here even when I sign them so I can't do that with other peoples players too. That's how it is."
With Baker sidelined indefinitely, Rob Atkinson, Zak Vyner and Tomas Kalas remain the only natural centre-backs while Cam Pring, who is naturally a left-sided defender, has slotted in that position.
Robbie Cundy has yet to make an appearance this season due to an ongoing knee injury but could be closing in on a return to senior action after featuring in the Under-23 side in two of their last three fixtures.
Eagle-eyed supporters also spotted him training among the first-team in the latest training video uploaded on Twitter by the club.
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
