He said: "If this situation had arised a fortnight ago I would have kept Stern John. "We have always wanted to go with four strikers and this shows how difficult management is because you require a big squad.
"It has been tested where we have five or six missing from the squad. "It rocks you when you have a big player out for the rest of the season but you cannot legislate for this happening."
John has hardly thrilled City fans with his performances so far,scoring only one goal on his debut which was a penalty. Although chances for the Trinidad & Tobago international have been limited,thanks mainly to Reid's negative 4-5-1 tactic, the vast majority have been headers which he has failed to put away.