GREG Abbott has hit out at the "time wasters" peppering him with names for next month's transfer window.

City can prepare for January in a position of strength in the mix at the top of League One.

But chief scout Abbott admits the build-up to this mid-season window has been even more hectic after emergency loans were abolished.

He has been bombarded with reams of potential recruits – and is fed up with how long it takes to sift through the pointless ones.

Abbott said: "Agents have been almost idle because there have been no loans. So since the start of November, I've been getting long lists through with a whole variety of players.

"Some are never going to be good enough and others should be straight in the Premier League. You get a carte blanche e-mail with everybody on it and then you have to decipher who is relevant.

"I get really irate with it. I've got six games to go to in seven days this week and then you've got people telling you somebody has been released from Basingstoke.

"I've been in the game long enough to know who the time wasters are. But if you don't read all the names you might miss one that you'll be kicking yourself about later.

"Some of these agents let the rest down. They aren't football people. I've even had a few asking if I needed any full backs at Cambridge this year! I said, you'd better ask them because I left six months ago."

Abbott was a major mover and shaker during City's frantic summer recruitment that saw 12 players join. With Stuart McCall's side currently fourth in League One, that work has paid off handsomely.

Regular strategy meetings are taking place to plan for the next window but Abbott insists the situation remains fluid.

He said: "You can't make any hard and fast decisions right now. Things can change almost on a weekly basis with the 'flavour' of the team. The crux of the matter is that Stuart is quite happy with his squad, although there are one or two areas we know we can improve.

"Most fans will probably say we've got to go out and get a 20-goal striker – but that's almost a Neanderthal statement. It's true. But you look at the players where clubs have paid an absolute fortune and there is no guarantee they will score those goals.

"There will be no panic buys because there is no need. We had to do something sharpish when we turned up in the summer. But at the moment we are really pleased with the way the players have performed. It's whether we can find something that fits and makes us better.

"That should be the situation at every club – but you have to be ready for every eventuality. There are also players here who are out of contract at the end of the season and they might make the situation a little cloudier than it is.

"Players get affected by speculation. I don't want them to think I'm chasing someone all the time. But it's been a fantastic four months with the progress we are making."