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Stern JohnStern John has spoken of his determination to earn a Bristol City contract in the new year.
Signed from Coca-Cola Championship rivals Southampton at the end of last week, the striker, pictured left, has no intention of returning to St Mary's when his loan spell expires on January 1.

Desperate to cut their wage bill, cash-strapped Saints need to offload a number of senior professionals and chairman Rupert Lowe has indicated that John, who is out of contract at the end of the season, will be allowed to leave during the January transfer window.

John made his City debut as a second-half substitute in Saturday's goalless draw at Barnsley and wants to prove he is worth a long-term deal.

The 31-year-old revealed: "Since the end of last season, there have been big problems at Southampton.

"The chairman has told us he needs to move out the senior players and I'm looking for a new challenge. That's why I came here and it wasn't a difficult decision to make.

"I want to show the fans and the manager what I can do.

"I'd love to be a part of what is going on at City and I want to stay. But first, I have to get my head down, score some goals and help push the team up the table."

John boasts Premier League experience with Birmingham and believes a move to City represents his best chance of a return to the top flight.

He said: "This club has a good group of younger players who are still improving and the the team spirit is fantastic.

"I've been watching them since last season and like the way they play their football. I've played in the Premier League before and would like to help Bristol City get there."

Although City failed to reproduce the level of performance which swept Charlton aside at The Valley last week, they proved solid enough in defence to return from Yorkshire with a point ahead of back-to-back home games against Sheffield United and Reading.

Manager Johnson professed himself satisfied with a point.

He reasoned: "If you can't win a game, then it's important not to lose it. We started well and they finished well, so in the end I was pleased with the result.

"They got into our penalty area more times than we did in the second half and we had to defend properly. The whole team has to do well to get a clean sheet.

"I was disappointed that we didn't really get our game going, but I'm pleased with the way the lads dug in. We came here for three points, but a draw is decent."

City go into tomorrow's home clash with Sheffield United in confident mood after taking seven points from their last three games, but Johnson may be forced to change his team.

Left-back Jamie McAllister limped off at Barnsley with a badly bruised toe and the manager will assess the fitness of midfielder Cole Skuse (back strain) and defender Louis Carey (swollen toe).

Bradley Orr is available after a one-match ban and will contest the right-back berth with Brian Wilson.