Jim Jefferies is desperate to find a new hot-shot to solve Bradford City's chronic scoring problems.

But the Bantams boss admitted: "There aren't that many available that you can get for nothing."

Jefferies plans to see chairman Geoffrey Richmond to see whether there is cash in the coffers after the recent departures of big earners Stan Collymore and Dan Petrescu.

Transfer-listed Benito Carbone could be back in the squad for Saturday's trip to Southampton, but Jefferies is after the sort of striker with the turbo-charged pace that scares defenders.

City have now gone eight and a half hours without scoring and are ten points off the Premiership safety zone following Saturday's demoralising 3-0 defeat against Aston Villa at Valley Parade.

Jefferies said: "The lads are not meaning to miss but when you're down at the bottom and not making a lot of chances, you've got to put them in. You have to hit the target. We had a couple of good opportunities on Saturday but the fact we are snatching at things shows the pressure.

"Aston Villa play the same system as us with players who like it in to feet and hold the ball up to bring others into play. But you do need that cutting edge to get in behind the defenders and we don't have it.

"There's no point in bringing in someone similar to what we've got. But when I've found the right person I'll go to see the chairman.

"With one or two players going recently it makes space for it. Everybody knows we need that cutting edge up front which can turn half-chances into goals.

"At the moment we're never going to hurt teams as much as we should do. Darius Vassell took his goals well for Villa, although we were sloppy to give them away."

Jefferies condemned City's sixth defeat as "totally self-inflicted". "There was no danger of Aston Villa scoring until we presented them with the first goal. Then we put Peter Beagrie on and had to change it to play a back four which left us exposed and we could have ended up conceding more than three.

"That's the reason we have to play the way we do because it suits the players we have at the club. We just have to hope we take our chances which we've not been doing lately."