O'Neill handed transfer war chest

FitzGerald said: "We want to be around the top of the Premiership and playing Champions League football and you need world class players to do that.

"People might have thought we pushed the boat out signing Ashley Young (for £9.65m) but I can guarantee significant funds have been made available.

"Owner Randy Lerner has freed up a transfer pot for Martin O'Neill."

FitzGerald added: "No-one has put a figure on the sum but we wouldn't have come out and said we want to be competing at the top of the Premiership and be in the Champions League if we didn't know what that entailed."

O'Neill is already being linked with a host of players including Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy - he played under the Irishman at Celtic - and Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe plus Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc.

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