Sir Alex Ferguson will only make a move to add to Manchester United's squad in the January transfer window if a long-term target becomes available.
The United manager has seen his squad stretched in recent weeks, with Darren Fletcher taking an extended break from the game with ulcerative colitis, captain Nemanja Vidic ruled out for the season, Anderson battling a long-term knee problem and Javier Hernández and Tom Cleverley also sidelined.
Many expect Ferguson to add reinforcements next month, but the Scot has vowed not to panic-buy. Asked if there would be new arrivals in January, he said: "Not necessarily. I don't know why people keep going on about it. [I won't buy] unless someone appears we have always been interested in appears, but there isn't."
Ferguson also explained the decision to make public the details of Fletcher's illness, after previously passing his absence off on a virus.
"That was the big decision," he said. "It got to the point where we had to address it in a different way. We spoke about a virus to protect Darren but it got to the point people were delving. It was getting uncomfortable so we decided to make it public. He has been in hospital for a few days."
Ferguson also revealed that the striker Dimitar Berbatov was fit after ankle trouble and the reserve-team midfielder Paul Pogba was in consideration for Sunday's trip to QPR.