Sunderland owner Ellis Short is prepared to fund another summer of transfer activity on Wearside, but insists the club will not be spending for the sake of it.
Owner hoping to see Black Cats make quality additions
Sunderland owner Ellis Short is prepared to fund another summer of transfer activity on Wearside, but insists the club will not be spending for the sake of it.
Billionaire Short has pumped a large chunk of his personal fortune into the Black Cats, but is yet to see a return on that investment on the field.
A burning ambition to bring success to the Stadium of Light means he is prepared to dig deep again in 2012.
Short is, however, keen to point out that Martin O'Neill must choose his targets carefully, with the Black Cats in the market for quality, not quantity.
He said: "Martin is looking at specific players we might want and there will be a lot of work in trying to get those players here.
"But we don't want to sign players for the sake of signing them, or because it feels inexpensive.
"We want to identify players who are good and who will definitely improve us, and try to bring them in."
Pressure
Short hopes his willingness to provide further financial support will bring about an improvement in results, with O'Neill warned that a repeat of last season's 13th place finished will be considered unacceptable.
He added: "We want to be well within the top 10. We certainly can't promise that, but we're not happy with where we are and we want to continue to improve.
"There's a huge pressure to do so - both from the fans and their expectations, and from the sheer size of the economics that are involved in the Premier League.
"We feel that with Martin, and with the progress we have made, we are well positioned."
