NEWCASTLE are struggling to make January signings because of the size of their wage bill, but manager Chris Hughton insists he is more than happy with the current squad at his disposal.

Having already failed to prise Matt Kilgallon from Sheffield United this month, Hughton is in danger of missing out on his two other leading targets, Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford and Manchester United defender Danny Simpson.

Beckford will remain at Elland Road unless Newcastle owner Mike Ashley increases his ‘final’ offer of £1.5m, something he is extremely reluctant to do, while Simpson is due to return to Old Trafford at the end of his loan deal on Tuesday after talks with his agent broke down this week.

Newcastle have agreed a £500,000 fee for the full-back with Manchester United, but are understood to have offered Simpson around £9,000-aweek, a significant reduction on the £15,000-a-week he is believed to earn at the moment.

The days of the Magpies spending money as if it was going out of fashion are over, thanks in no small part to a wage bill that is easily the biggest in the Championship.

While the summer departure of the likes of Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, Damien Duff and Obafemi Martins helped to halve last season’s wage budget, Newcastle are still shelling out around £35ma- year in payments to players.

The club’s total income this season is not expected to exceed the £50m mark and, as a result, Ashley is being understandably circumspect about spending too much money this month.

That means Hughton could have to settle for loan signings and he said: “I’m delighted it’s happened this way.

“During the summer, there was a major decision to be made. Thankfully, the decision was that a lot of the players who were on big money would stay. The club could have pushed it the other way and decided to get rid of every big earner on the books, but they didn’t.

“The statement from the club was that we wanted to have a go, and that in turn meant continuing to carry the massive wage bill we’ve got.

“For this division, we still have an incredible wage bill.

Arguably, it’s a wage bill that this division hasn’t seen before.

“But I would rather have the senior players in the squad and have to run a tight ship than have sold a lot more players in the summer but have a bit more money to spend.

“The three loan lads in the first half of the season did well for us, but the major contribution to the team this season has come from the senior lads. I’m delighted to have them, and it’s a much better situation than if more players had gone.”

Nevertheless, the resultant budgetary pressures are hampering Hughton’s attempts to sign Beckford and Simpson on a permanent basis.

Further talks with Simpson’s representatives are planned for this weekend but, as things stand, the 23-yearold will return to Manchester United after making his final Newcastle appearance on Monday.

If a permanent deal proves impossible to engineer, Hughton will turn his attention to the loan market in an attempt to provide some much-needed cover.

Bolton’s Dan Shittu is a loan option at centre-half, while a second loan deal for Harewood has not been ruled out despite Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill having expressed a reluctance to lose the striker on a short-term basis again this month.

■ Newcastle’s game at Bristol City is live on Sky and will now kick off at 5.20pm on Saturday, March 20.