STUART McCall will not plug the gaps in City’s injury-hit squad with a free agent.

The Bantams have a couple of further doubts for tomorrow’s trip to Leyton Orient on top of the six absentees from their 3-0 defeat at Salford.

None of the players currently missing are likely to be available for the London clash as McCall’s selection options continue to be stretched.

But having ruled out the free-agency market at the end of the transfer window, the City boss will not change his mind and pursue any out-of-contract help.

McCall said: “If I bring one in now, they’ll need a month to get up to speed.

“I’ve had nobody put to me recently and I put the feelers out.

“There’s nobody that can come in and play. It would take a few weeks so we might as well wait for the players coming back from injury.

“Come next Saturday against Oldham (in the FA Cup) and we’ll definitely have three back. That will make a big difference.”

Billy Clarke and Reece Staunton are nursing hamstring problems while Callum Cooke’s tight calf kept him out at the weekend.

Bryce Hosannah, Lee Novak and Kurtis Guthrie are also out of the picture – although Leeds loanee Hosannah could be back to face the Latics.

McCall’s immediate concern is the long haul to east London, where he is demanding his reshuffled team step it up after Saturday’s setback. Salford scored all three goals by half-time as City dropped to 19th.

He added: “Could we push people for Tuesday? If we were at home maybe.

“But having spoken to the physios, (a player coming back from injury) sitting on a bus all the way down there and then playing the game is probably not the best thing to do.

“If there’s anyone who wants to put themselves forward and think they are okay. But it’s a balancing act.

“What happened to Evo (Gareth Evans) and Zeli (Ismail), working hard and almost getting back but then having little setbacks has made us more wary than normal now.’

Evans started his first game since October 12 at Salford but was taken off at half-time. Ismail came on for the last 20 minutes.

McCall said: “We’ve got a 26-man squad, which is a decent size. It’s not as if we’re short on numbers.

“Clubs might say, ‘we’ve got injuries’, and half of them aren’t playing anyway. But we had five out who would have been in the team.

“Anyone would suffer in that situation, whether it’s us or Liverpool and Man City.

“Liverpool lose (Virgil) van Dijk and say it could cost them the title. That’s one key player for them – we are missing half a team.

“It’s a fact and it’s also an excuse – but I don’t want to make excuses. You flip it on its head and for the lads coming in, this is their opportunity and they’ve got to go out and take it.

“The table is not nice to look at but you’re not going to be where you want when you’ve only won three games.

“We’ve got to quickly turn ourselves round. Don’t come in like pussy cats – we’ve got to front it up and that goes for everybody at the club.

“Regardless of who goes on the pitch, they’ve got to show pride in that shirt and come back from London with something.”