Michael Bailey Paul Lambert is prepared to fight “tooth and nail” to make sure none of his promotion charges leave the club during the January transfer window.With the new year six weeks away, Wes Hoolahan has already been linked with Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough, while Gary Doherty, Darel Russell and Grant Holt could all come under the transfer spotlight as teams look to salvage their season or prepare for promotion.

Michael Bailey

Paul Lambert is prepared to fight “tooth and nail” to make sure none of his promotion charges leave the club during the January transfer window.

With the new year six weeks away, Wes Hoolahan has already been linked with Gordon Strachan's Middlesbrough, while Gary Doherty, Darel Russell and Grant Holt could all come under the transfer spotlight as teams look to salvage their season or prepare for promotion.

Lambert said: “It was brilliant, I got asked a question the other week about Grant Holt. I get home and put teletext on and it says 'Lambert's got a price for Holt', and I think Jesus Christ. I'm fighting tooth and nail for nobody to leave this club the way we're going at the minute.

“My point was, if it can happen to Cristiano Ronaldo and if somebody bid �80m for, I don't know, Darel Russell, I'm pretty sure if I said to the club no, I'm not selling him, I'd be sacked. So there you go. It's that you'd fight tooth and nail for nobody to leave this club at the minute with the way it's going.”

And the Norwich boss does not expect any players to be sold without his consent, saying: “I would certainly be the main focal point of it.”

On the flip side, the Scot is still hoping to add a few new faces to his squad and is adamant City's recent good form does not mean he has a strong pool of players for maintaining a promotion push for the rest of the season.

“I said from day one this current group needs help and I still stick by that,” he said. “If you look at the team over the last few months it has very rarely changed, and to go 46 games is really tough considering now you're going to go Tuesday, Saturday, and then Boxing Day and the 28th. So I don't buy that we've got a big enough squad to cope with the amount of the games. We don't.

“There's nothing better in football than when a manager brings in two or three players and you think 'oh, I need to look over my shoulder now'.

“I can't have anybody not looking over their shoulder thinking they're always going to be in the side, because that's when you become complacent and you just take for granted that you're going to play.

“We're doing everything we can to try and make something happen. Whether it happens or not, you're never quite sure, but we're doing everything we can to bring in a couple, at least.”