YORK City will not be breaking the bank to sign new players before Monday’s transfer deadline.

Manager Russ Wilcox has identified possible targets before the window closes on February 2 but he has warned potential recruits they will need to be realistic in terms of their wage demands.

After Monday, the Minstermen will only be able to look to the loan market to bolster their ranks and already have five players – the maximum allowed in a matchday squad – at Bootham Crescent on that basis with Wilcox also still in pursuit of Sheffield United striker Diego De Girolamo.

With Dan Parslow, Ryan Jarvis, Jason Mooney and Anthony Straker all out on loan, City currently have 16 senior professionals, excluding teenage pair Ben Hirst and Cameron Murray, permanently contracted to the club available for selection and, on the prospect of adding to those numbers, the City boss said: “Names are being thrown about at the moment and I’ve seen some that would interest me and we will have a look at.

“We are always looking to improve the squad, but whether we will do anything is another matter. It comes down to finances.

“If a player we would like wants too much money then it won’t go ahead. The budget is really tight and we are trying to juggle it.

“January is a difficult time for League Two clubs. There’s not a boat-load of money around because, at most clubs, the bulk of it will have been spent in the summer, as was the case here.

“We’ll just see what happens in the next couple of days. There might not be any movement or one or two might go out and one or two might come in. I’m not really sure at the moment.”

Wilcox did confirm, however, that any further loan outgoings would be subject to recall clauses unlike Straker’s move to Motherwell.

“I would consider letting anybody out who’s not playing games but there would have to be a call-back facility after 28 days because we must be fully covered for these hugely important final 19 fixtures,” the City chief reasoned.

First-year pro Murray would look a likely candidate for such a move, having returned from a spell at Wilcox’s former club Frickley Athletic, where he only managed one appearance for the Evo-Stik League side.

On that experience, Wilcox added: “If you are a League player going to play at that level, you’ve got to grasp your chance with both hands.

“I don’t know whether Cameron did that or not, but you’ve probably got to be the best player on the pitch and give the manager no option but to pick you. It didn’t work out for him, so we move on now.”

Michael Ingham is expected to return to the bench for Saturday’s trip to Southend after two months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.

The Minstermen will be tackling a Shrimpers side that have not conceded a goal for more than eight hours at their Roots Hall home but Wilcox is not daunted by the challenge ahead, saying: “They’ve not conceded a goal in five home games but that might be a good sign because it means they must be due to let one in. The last three games have finished 0-0 there but I’ve watched their game against Plymouth on DVD and it could have ended 5-5.

“That sums up League Two. You have to take the chances you get and neither side did.”