Neil Lennon has admitted that players could be sold off this month amid Bolton Wanderers' ongoing financial troubles.
The Championship's basement side have debts totalling more than £170m, been subject of a winding-up order from HMRC and have struggled to meet the monthly salary bill for players and staff in recent months.
Owner Eddie Jones has withdrawn all financial support for the club while advisor Trevor Birch seeks a new buyer, a decision that means Lennon could face losing key members of his squad in this month's transfer window in order to lower the wage bill.
"I hope [we don't lose players], but that may be the reality," Lennon told BBC Radio Manchester. "Trevor's already stated that might be the case, but we'll just have to wait and see.
"It makes a difficult job more difficult, but that's something I can't really touch on."
Lennon will be unable to bring any new faces in this month after Wanderers were hit with a transfer embargo for failing to submit their accounts on time.