IPSWICH boss George Burley will not be panicked into the transfer market in a bid to kick-start his team's Premiership campaign.Burley, who spent £10 million in the summer, has ruled out any further big-money buys when he said: "I have every confidence the current squad can get it right.

By Mel Henderson

IPSWICH boss George Burley will not be panicked into the transfer market in a bid to kick-start his team's Premiership campaign.

Burley, who spent £10 million in the summer, today ruled out any further big-money buys when he said: "I have every confidence the current squad can get it right.

"I tried players in the summer and I couldn't afford their wages, and I'm not planning any further activity in that area."

Burley has seen his side claim just one victory in seven league games, leaving them as one of four clubs on the five-point mark at the foot of the table.

It is far too early to talk of a relegation struggle, but the Town boss added: "We have to face up to the fact that we face a fight to stay in this league.

"We are competing to stay in there – that's the reality of the situation – and there are as many as 15 clubs in the same boat. It is very, very competitive.

"Last year we started the season aiming to stay in the Premiership and it is the same this season. Staying in would be an achievement and anything else a bonus."

Burley is satisfied that he has the resources at his disposal to steer Town out of the danger zone and to mid-table respectability or better.

He said: "We have a good squad of players here and there is competition throughout the team for places. We have turned in two very good performances in our last couple of games.

"I was very pleased with the way we played against Leeds on Sunday. The signs were very encouraging as we competed well and even outplayed them for about 70 minutes.

"We must try to eliminate individual errors. If you look through the games we've played so far this season you can recall one or two that have cost us dearly, although that's football and it happens to every team.

"At this stage last season we only had three points more than we have now and I look back at games in the past few weeks where we should have taken more points than we did.

"But nobody is panicking. We've played seven games of a 38-game season and I have faith in the players being able to turn things round. We always anticipated it would be more difficult this time round."

Although he is ruling out any short-term excursions into the market, Burley is always looking to the future and planning ahead.

With this in mind, he is planning a weekend scouting trip to the continent, with a number of World Cup qualifiers from which to choose.

Meanwhile, he is keeping his fingers crossed that Town's many international stars avoid injuries when they represent their countries in the next few days.

Skipper Matt Holland, Jim Magilton, Hermann Hreidarsson and Thomas Gaardsoe are all away from Portman Road, as is Finidi George as he prepares for Nigeria's game against Japan at Southampton.

Titus Bramble has had to withdraw from the England Under-21 squad for Friday's clash with Greece, with boss Burley reporting: "He had an injection in his ankle on Sunday."

Midfielder Martijn Reuser is Town's only other casualty. Burley said: "He had a slight pull in his thigh a couple of days before we played Torpedo Moscow at home and these things can take two or three weeks to clear."