Neil Young has warned Chester FC supporters not to expect a flurry of new arrivals when the transfer window opens next week.

Young and chief scout Alex Hay have been clocking up the miles to identify potential new recruits as the Blues look to claw themselves out of trouble.

But the manager says that being restricted to part-time contracts and having little room in the budget means the club is working in a very limited player pool.

“I am worried some people are looking at the transfer window like Jose Mourinho or Brendan Rogers might do, but the big thing from our perspective is that we have not got the players available to us,” said Young.

“What concerns me is what some fans believe is going to happen in January and who they are expecting us to sign.

“I keep hearing that we need players but there are no names coming out because the fact is there is not a lot about.”

Young has made no secret of his desire to strengthen his squad, particularly with injuries beginning to bite and a lack of goals.

He wants to  bring in a new centre forward, a central midfielder and an attacking left-sided player but believes it will be near impossible to sign all three.

“We have identified five or six targets but I have got to be honest and I don’t know what some people expect us to be signing,” he said.

“We will try and do something in the key areas and that’s where we are maximising all our efforts but it will be difficult because we don’t have money for transfer fees.”

Players will have to be moved out before Young can make any more permanent additions, meaning he will again be looking to the loan market.

Lewis and Nathan Turner are on loan until the end of the season, but Ross Killock, John Rooney and George Miller are all due to return to their parent clubs on January 4.

Following the visit of  Southport on New Year’s Day, the Blues are not back in action until January 18 giving Young time to assess his options and – more importantly says the manager – nurse his injured players back to fitness.

“I have been very impressed with Ross, John and George,” said Young.

“They have freshened things up and they have the right attitude but we won’t look to re-engage them right away because we don’t have a game.

“Two or three new faces can make a big difference but if we can bring two or three in then it means two or three will have to go out, but the one thing we need from all of them is character.

“The break gives us a bit of wriggle room and it means we don’t need to make massive decisions straight away.

“We have lost some big players and take those players out of any other part-time team in this league and they are going to struggle.”