BLACKBURN boss Mark Hughes has admitted he may have to sell a player if he wants to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window.

With little cash available for new signings, Hughes has conceded he may have to do some trading next month in order to fund any new arrivals.

However, the Rovers chief has dismissed suggestions he might be ready to cash in on Benni McCarthy, insisting he would find it difficult to justify letting the South African go under any circumstances'.

McCarthy, who has failed to score in his last nine games, has been linked with swap deals involving Newcastle's Mark Viduka and Bolton's Nicolas Anelka in recent weeks.

But Hughes is adamant he has no intention of letting the 30-year-old leave, because he would find it virtually impossible to replace him in the current market.

Asked directly whether he had any plans to use McCarthy as a bargaining tool, Hughes said: "The price I would get for Benni wouldn't allow me to replace him with a player of the same ability and quality.

"I would find it very difficult to justify letting him go under any circumstances for that reason."

Although Hughes appears unwilling to use McCarthy as bait in his attempts to bring new players in, several other members of the squad might be sacrificed if the manager feels it will help him improve the overall quality of the squad.

"I would suggest the only way we could do anything would be to trade players," said Hughes.

"I still think we've got a decent enough squad here and, when everyone is fit and well and in form, it's strong enough.

"But at the moment people are saying we need to strengthen and I think that's more to do with a lack of form in some of the players, rather than a lack of ability or quality.

"It's like they say: form is temporary, class is permanent. And that's my view on it.

"However, if things happen and certain situations present themselves, and we feel can do something, then I'm always looking to improve the quality I have here."

Jason Roberts could be one of the players Hughes is willing to sacrifice, even though he recently rejected a formal transfer request from the disgruntled striker.

A host of clubs, including Sunderland, Wigan and Derby, are also monitoring Robbie Savage's situation carefully, knowing the midfielder has become unsettled by his recent lack of first-team opportunities.

Hughes has already taken the chance to look at some players on trial but so far, no-one has caught his eye.

"We are always looking at the market with a view to seeing who is available," said the Rovers boss.

"I'm getting calls on a daily basis at the moment from agents saying X,Y and Z are available, and we look at them as they come in.

"But, as yet, we've not seen anything that we feel we can move on, or that is in our scope to be able to move on.

"But we'll continue to look and if things present themselves, and I feel there is a deal to be done, then I'll always look closely at it."

In the past, Hughes has done some of his best business in the January window, snapping up Ryan Nelsen, David Bentley, Stephen Warnock and Chris Samba for a combined total of £2.5 million.

However, the Rovers chief is always wary of getting sucked into paying over the odds for players at this time of the year.

He added: "We've done okay in January in the past but it's more risky at this time of the year, because the market itself is a little bit over-heated, so you have to be careful you don't pay over the odds, just to get bodies through the door.

"But we are in a situation where we are in the top half of the Premier League, so it's not as if we are fighting to get out of relegation trouble and we have to go into the market to try to shake things up.

"Obviously, this time we are trying to get in the European places and if we can get better quality in then that will help."