Town manager Joe Royle says that the Blues' exit from the Carling Cup earlier this week has lost a chance of adding to his loan budget.

The Blues' financial projections were based on first round exits from both cup competitions but Royle says a run in the Carling Cup could have helped him add to funds available to bring in loan players: "I'm not devastated at getting knocked out of the Carling Cup but what it does is it closes a funding avenue for us to bring in loan players and our loan budget at the moment is very small."

While the Blues currently have Tony Dinning on a two-month loan, Royle has said on a number of occasions that he is keen to bring in a defender and a striker on a short-term basis.

Crystal Palace's Dougie Freedman and West Brom's Darren Moore were both linked last weekend but the Scottish striker wants to remain at Selhurst Park and Baggies' boss Gary Megson won't allow Moore to leave the Hawthorns.

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