Gary Johnson is set to swoop before the Football League transfer window slams shut.

Bristol City's manager and the club's board of directors are pulling out all the stops in an attempt to add to the squad ahead of the deadline.

Having made seven summer signings already, Johnson is in market for a tall, strong centre forward to replace injured Lithuanian international Andrius Velicka.

The Evening Post understands City have identified two unnamed targets and are now awaiting a response from their respective clubs.

Speaking in the aftermath of Saturday's confidence-boosting 2-1 home victory over Championship promotion favourites Middlesbrough at Ashton Gate, Johnson played his cards close to his chest.

Although he refused to divulge the identity of the players concerned, he nevertheless admitted he was hopeful of adding to his squad before the deadline.

He said: "There could well be a bit of business between now and Tuesday.

"We've made enquiries for a couple of players and we're now waiting to see what happens. Very often, things happen on deadline day itself and that could be the case with us.

"We're looking and it would be nice to add to our squad if we can before the close of business on Tuesday."

City have until 5pm on Tuesday to make any further signings after the Football Association extended the deadline owing to the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Lee Trundle's loan move to Championship rivals Swansea has freed up additional cash and the Post understands City are very close to reaching an agreement with one particular player and that a new striker could be unveiled at Ashton Gate tomorrow, providing the individual concerned first passes a medical examination.

Negotiations continued throughout the weekend, with City keen to avoid a repeat of the deal which brought Velicka to Bristol from Glasgow Rangers earlier this month.

City agreed to take on the eastern European's contract until the end of the season and the club was subsequently left to foot an expensive bill after Velicka sustained serious knee ligament damage just five minutes into his debut against Queens Park Rangers.

That particular bit of business is likely to cost the Robins close to £300,000 over the next nine months and explains why they are now holding out for a loan deal which does not involve assuming responsibility for the player's contract.

When Johnson signed Velicka on a season-long loan, he claimed he had no plans to surther strengthen his squad ahead of the transfer deadline. But that situation changed when the new arrival was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.

He subsequently offered trials to Vincent Pericard and Quincy Owusu-Obeyie, but is thought unlikely to offer terms to either at this juncture owing to concerns over their fitness.

City embarked upon a two-week break for international matches in good heart after beating Boro to move up to fifth place in the Championship table after five games.

Leading scorer Nicky Maynard netted twice in a 2-1 win as the Robins emerged resurgent from a bad week in which they were beaten by Cardiff and knocked out of the Carling Cup by Carlisle United.

Manager Johnson said: "I'm very, very proud of our football club and pleased with the effort that was put in by the players, staff and supporters alike.

"We've had a lot of problems in the club in the last couple of weeks with injury and illness and we knew we had to turn things around.

"You have to fight very hard in every game in the Championship and the lads gave me the response I was after. They worked hard to stop Middlesbrough from showing their quality and then our striker has come up with two wonderful goals to win us the match.

"Our aim was to be in the top six after the first month and it's great to go into the international break in fifth place. We've beaten a very good team and can go into the break full of confidence."