Gary Johnson insists Bristol City will not be held to ransom by greedy clubs or agents during the next month.

The January transfer window opens for business tomorrow and City boss Johnson will once again be in the market for new signings.

But he is adamant the club will not gamble it's future by paying over the odds.

Johnson has made no secret of his desire to recruit a left-sided midfielder and he will meet with chairman Steve Lansdown in the next few days to discuss potential targets.

Although Lansdown has always backed his manager with hard cash, Johnson says he is not prepared to pay the inflated fees which have become a characteristic of the January transfer window in recent seasons.

"I'm always aware that I'm spending someone else's money," said Johnson.

"Personally, I don't like the January transfer window and I've always been against it. Prices always tend to be double what they should be because clubs are looking to cash in on players who are out of contract at the end of the season.

"And then the agents get involved, speak to all sorts of different clubs and try to get a Dutch auction going to up the price.

"We've always tried to be sensible here and the chairman has spoken about the need to build gradually and not put all of your eggs in one basket and gamble. If you do that and it doesn't come off for you, where do you go from there?"

Lansdown has habitually backed his manager in the transfer market and is again expected to make cash available as Johnson seeks to bolster a squad which still harbours ambitions to reach the Coca-Cola Championship play-offs.

Johnson said: "A manager's life would be unbearable if he didn't have a strong chairman and Steve Lansdown has always been unbelievably supportive.

"He's a realist, he's honest and he always speaks his mind. But I don't mind that because he understands the game and I'm always happy to listen to him."

Although Johnson admits he is concerned by a return of one win in 10 games, a sequence which has seen City drop out of immediate play-off contention, he is not expected to make sweeping changes during January.

He said: "I believe continuity is important and that's why I've never gone for wholesale changes.

"You cannot keep moving people out because they've put in two or three poor performances. We're always looking to improve the squad, but we're not looking for major changes.

"The chairman may tell me I have to move players out before I can bring new ones in, but we'll have to wait and see."

Johnson insists he is not afraid to move out players who under-achieve and he admitted several squad members are still on trial.

"The clock is ticking," said Johnson. "I've spoken to the lads about it and they know it's the nature of the game.

"They know a manager is going to bring in players and move out players when he needs to do so.

"Because of that, there is always added pressure whenever the transfer window comes around and I have to look, not only at the consistency of these players, but also at the quality.

"Of course, you have to give them the opportunity to prove they are not quite good enough for this level and that means playing them over a period of time.

"Then if they don't improve and come on as you would like them to, you have to maybe look at getting them out and bringing others in."