Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce admits he'll be looking to spend big in January.

He said: "I remember we beat Portsmouth 5-0 and you would have sworn then that there was no way out for them. But Harry Redknapp spent £12m in the transfer window, Birmingham spent nothing.

"They stayed up and we went down - that has to tell you something. "Since then Portsmouth have become the yardstick that clubs like us have to measure ourselves against.

"A lot of that is down to the fact that Harry is a genius at spotting a player and getting a team to gel.

"It is incredible the way he keeps doing that. He really is top drawer. But you have to be prepared to act when you see deficiencies.

"And I would say that in terms of numbers, the squad I've got here is a bit thin in a lot of areas.

"I'm not saying it's short on quality. In players like Emile Heskey, Jason Koumas, Marcus Bent and Antonio Valencia, I've got four attackers worth £5m plus the way the transfer market is now.

"You must have quality attackers to survive in the mini-league we find ourselves in.

"At the bottom of the table there are probably eight teams looking to avoid relegation. If you haven't got goals in the team, you're finished.

"We've got other strikers like Antoine Sibierski and Julius Aghahowa that I haven't even seen in training yet, because they've been injured.

"They will get a chance to impress me, like everyone else.

"When I came in to take training for the first time at the start of last week, I told everyone they had until January to show me they were genuine Premier League players.

"But even if every last one of them impresses me, I will still be looking to strengthen.

"We need competition for places and cover for injuries."