NEW Bristol City manager Steve Coppell says he is prepared to work with a smaller squad than his predecessor.

Previous City boss Gary Johnson had as many as 32 professionals on the Ashton Gate books last season, as he sought to improve results by dipping into the loan market.

But former Reading manager Coppell, who officially took up his new post a week ago, is expected to operate with fewer players when the new Championship campaign kicks-off in August.

Robins chairman Steve Lansdown warned against the expense of a spiralling wage bill last week and said he would like Coppell to work with a squad of 24 or 25 players.

And Coppell, it seems, is in agreement with his chairman. He said: "I'm very much in harmony with that. If you have too many players in the squad, there will always be half-a-dozen who know that, no matter what they do, they are not going to be playing on a Saturday.

"Sometimes, that can put a bit of a dampener on the atmosphere, because it is impossible to keep everyone happy.

"During the course of a season, you are going to use 25 or 26 players, guaranteed. When we start the campaign, I'd like everyone to feel they have a chance of playing.

"I want everyone to feel connected and I'm going to work very hard to try and get that. I understand the economics of modern-day football and I realise you cannot carry excess baggage."

Nine members of last season's squad have already left and the squad Coppell inherited numbers 23 professionals, including Academy product Joe Edwards, who signed a new deal at the end of last season.

Coppell has made no secret of his wish to recruit new faces and, although he does not have to sell before he can buy, he may still feel the need to trim his squad further in order to make room for the kind of signings which will improve the team.

But all of City's senior professionals have deals covering next season and the manager admitted: "There are contractual obligations to be met and there are certain things you simply cannot change overnight. We already have a strong squad here and it is only right that I look at those players when they return for training in July before deciding what I need to bring in."

Coppell managed on tight budgets previously while at Crystal Palace and Reading and he sees similarities between those clubs and City.

He said: "I didn't spend a lot of money when I first went to Reading. We did spend more when we got into the Premier League, but nothing like the fees that were being paid elsewhere.

"John Madjeski (Reading chairman) was never going to risk the future of the club for short-term glory and I always worked within strict financial guidelines.

"My managerial development under Ron Noades at Crystal Palace was similar and I soon got to know where most pennies were going.

"We couldn't spend a great deal of money but, when the players were available and we had the cash, we did that.

"I'm sure it is the same here and the chairman is not going to throw money away.

"He is going to make sure we account for everything. It is the way I've worked before and I'm sure it is the way I will work now I'm here."

He added: "Football is easy when you have money. You simply buy the best players and end up with the best team.

"We and every other team in the Championship are unable to do that. Some can do it better than others, and we will be in the mix because of the financial insulation the chairman gives us, but there is no way he is going to give me an open chequebook.

"We have to be sensible and bring long-term value to the club."