Sunderland chairman Ellis Short is willing to back manager Martin O'Neill in the transfer market.

O'Neill's top target is Wolves' £15million-rated striker Steven Fletcher and billionaire Short has indicated he will stretch the budget to land the Scotland international and others.

Short 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.

"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."