Sunderland defender Danny Collins has welcomed the big-spending manager Steve Bruce is planning.

Collins said: "We have got a great chairman and they are putting the money in, the other top man in charge as well. They are really having a go.

"The players we are trying to get in are only going to strengthen us. It's no good every season sticking with the same lads, you need to freshen it up.

"After where we finished last year, lads have moved on and naturally we are going to bring new players in."

Collins is a survivor of the Mick McCarthy era at Sunderland and has made the £140,000 fee the club paid to take him to the Stadium of Light from Chester in October 2004 look a snip.

He said: "It's my sixth season here now and I have certainly had to work hard. I have had to fight off challenges from other lads and really prove myself here.

"But I have enjoyed it, especially the last couple of seasons in the Premier League. I feel I have pushed myself and done quite well.

"But a new manager has come in and I have got to start again and impress him and hopefully get my shirt for the start of the season."