Last Updated: Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:14
Tony Mowbray has warned WBA fans not to expect a big-money January signing and believes he may have to settle for a striker in on loan.
The Baggies boss concedes that Albion's Premier League slump could deter potential New Year signings from moving to The Hawthorns.
After his side's eight-match winless run continued with a cruel defeat at Wigan on Saturday, Mowbray revealed how the situation could put off some potential targets.
"It will be very hard to attract people and that's why we will need to loan players," he said.
"I wouldn't want to commit a player to us even though there's a long way to go. It's going to be hard for us to sign people on two or three-year contracts, partly because of the salary differential.
"If you are signing a player for the Premier League it's very difficult if he's looking at us and thinking 'you're bottom of the league and you may not be in the Premier League next season'.
"The best option will be loans, but that cuts down your options because clubs generally aren't giving their best players away on loan.
"We have scouts scouring Europe and trying to find somebody who we think can come in and help us."
Mowbray has new competition from Everton to contend with now after the Goodison Park club were hit by long-term injuries to Yakubu and Louis Saha, forcing Dave Moyes to dip into the same loan market as Mowbray.
And the Baggies boss appears to have dismissed the prospect of plucking an unpolished gem from the lower leagues of Britain.
He said: "If we're going to buy then we're going to have to sell first. But if we're going to buy we also know it will probably be someone from one of the minor leagues.
"And to come from one of the minor leagues to the Premier League is a huge jump. A player may have 20 goals in whichever league he is on but in the Premier League you are playing against some world-class defending."