Steve Burr plans to 'take stock' of his squad after Chester FC failed to reach the FA Cup first round.
His side lost 1-0 at Altrincham in the fourth qualifying round on Saturday to ensure there will be no repeat of last season's adventures in the competition, which saw the Blues force a replay with League One club Barnsley in the second round.
Allied with a frustrating season in the league to date, it means the manager's patience with some in his squad is beginning to wear thin.
But the defeat at Moss Lane has served to compound the problem because Burr had hoped to generate funds through the FA Cup to strengthen his squad and must now work within the current budget, giving him little room for manouvere.
READ: FA Cup failure at Altrincham leaves Steve Burr 'bitterly disappointed'
Most of those players Burr could be looking to move on are towards the bottom end of the wage bill so that won't free up a huge amount of space to bring in experienced additions.
That means he will probably turn to the loan market once more having had success there last season with the likes of Brad Abbott and Oli McBurnie.
READ: Jim Green's verdict on the defeat at Moss Lane
Chester have a difficult trip to National League leaders Forest Green Rovers on Saturday (3pm) and while that's the manager's main focus, he will also be weighing up his options as he looks to bring in fresh blood.
"Forest Green are going well at the minute and we know how tough that will be," said Burr.
"I need to really look at things in the squad and see where we are going with this group and take stock of everything now.
"I'm more disappointed because the FA Cup was a way of generating money for the football club.
"We brought over £100,000 in last year so that's the beauty of the FA Cup to generate and make money for clubs
"It's going to be difficult for us but we'll just have to keep looking and seeing what we can do."
