Norwich boss Peter Grant admits he is turning into a loan pest in his search for fresh reinforcements. Hearts' playmaker Julien Brellier and unsettled Coventry midfielder Michael Doyle were the latest players linked with a Carrow Road switch as Grant looks to bolster his depleted squad.

Norwich boss Peter Grant admits he is turning into a loan pest in his search for fresh reinforcements.

Hearts' playmaker Julien Brellier and unsettled Coventry midfielder Michael Doyle were the latest players linked with a Carrow Road switch yesterday as Grant looks to bolster his depleted squad.

City assistant boss Jim Duffy scotched talk of an imminent move for Brellier but Grant is working overtime to engineer a short term fix.

“We're well short of where I want us to be,” he said. “Hopefully people are getting to the stage where they're sick of listening to me and give in. Straight after the Luton game had finished I was on the phone to a couple of people and I'll keep trying even though those doors are shut at the moment.

“I'll keep knocking but if you look at the fixture lists this is a really heavy period and clubs are reluctant to let players go.”

Chief executive Neil Doncaster confirmed in his EDP column yesterday money was not the major sticking point.

“Loaning players into Carrow Road at a time when so many Premiership clubs are still in European competitions is proving enormously difficult,” he said. “Quite simply, Premiership managers are just not willing to let players out on loan, despite the very best efforts of Peter and Bryan Gunn. Money is not the issue. It is about the numbers of injuries and the quantity of first team players out injured at those Premier League clubs.”

Grant denied a new keeper was top of his loan wish list despite Celtic loan recruit David Marshall's season-ending ankle ligament injury.

“If someone comes up with a quality keeper then we'll have a look but, as I always say, I want quality in every position,” he said. “If we manage that then we improve the team. It's hard to say I'm looking for this position or that because we just seem to end up getting double injuries in the same areas.

“I brought in Luke Chadwick alongside Lee Croft then Chaddy gets injured and Crofty as well. Chris Brown comes in to partner Robert Earnshaw, Earnie gets injured. So we bring in Chris Martin to play alongside Brownie and he gets injured.

“That just seems to be the way it's gone which is why I'm trying to scan for what is available right across the board.”