Everton boss Dave Moyes admits the club must maintain their current spending if they're to compete with the Premiership's top clubs.
"This is a lot of money for us but if we want to compete at the top then we have to compete in the market as it is," said the manager.
Moyes, in his sixth year at Goodison Park, has spent about £74million since his arrival in March 2002 and, depending on the 'extras' added on to the initial £20million fee for Wayne Rooney - which could add another £8million - he has brought in around £46m.
Compared to other big-spenders in the top flight, such differences are chicken-feed and easily wiped out by the Premier League prize money and TV cash.
"We are pleased the board have supported us as we have tried to improve the squad over the last five or six years," said Moyes.
"The supporters too have stood by us, they can see what we are trying to do. Before that, when things were not as good at Everton as they should have been, it was not as easy.
"Hopefully there is a much better Everton now for them to come and see, and I believe that there will continue to be progress on top of where we are today."
His squad has always been short of numbers, so to attempt to finish as high as last season's sixth place and to have a decent run in Europe, the club's hierarchy had to act now.
Moyes said: "We will have to spend to improve but we always try to spend money as wisely as we can and not to waste it.
"Anything we buy that does not work, we try to sell on as quickly as we can and get whatever we can back."
