Manager Paul Lambert has handed his January shopping list to the Norwich City board – but admits they will not be splashing out on big names and high earners.

Lambert is determined to add to his squad for the second half of the Premier League season in order to help secure the club's top-flight status.

'The group certainly need a hand. As I've said before, I don't want to sit here and get relegated after one year,' he said.

'It's up to the club to go and do it. I can't do anything else but give them names. But we won't be able to go out and spend millions and millions of pounds.

'I've given them names we want to try to get in. I'd love to bring in people who are at the top of the tree and pay lots of money for them but I can't. That is the reality of it, but this group have never let me down before. They need help. That is normal when you are doing OK.'

He emphasised again, however, that the Canaries could not afford established names on big salaries.

'I'd love to bring in a few lads that were established that would lift it all but we can't do it, that's the thing,' he said. 'It's the wages. You can't pay that – you all read the figures in the papers, but we can't do it. It's an impossibility.

'People aren't going to come here with the finances as they are in the game.'

Lambert would not comment on reports linking City with Nottingham Forest defender Chris Gunter, but did specify that he needed players who were ready to come straight into the side.

'There is no point me looking towards next season,' he said. 'You don't get time. I could be here one minute and off the next if I don't get the results. That is the nature of the beast. We have to get players in who are going to hit the ground running.

'We'll probably get linked with everybody and some will be that far-fetched but whatever the finances can stretch to then I'll have to work with that.'

Lambert was waiting on a fitness update on full-back Marc Tierney and defender Ritchie de Laet before naming his side for today's visit of Fulham.

Tierney missed Tuesday's 2-0 home defeat by Tottenham with a groin injury, Adam Drury making his first Premier League appearance for six-and-a-half years, while De Laet was substituted in the second half.

'Marc is feeling a bit better. We'll have to wait and see how he feels over the next 24 hours. I'll decide from there,' said Lambert.

'I'll have a chat with him and see how he is feeling. I'd say his chances are 50-50.

'Ritchie had a severe bout of cramp because he had not played for a long, long time. He'd not really done much training if the truth be known but he did really fine. He has got a wee problem with his back at the minute as well. It's a recurrence of the same problem so he is another one where we'll have to wait and see how he is feeling.'

On the plus side, right-back Kyle Naughton is available after a one-match ban that happily coincided with the game against his parent club, Tottenham, for which he was in any case ineligible.