Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has assured new owner Ellis Short the club will spend wisely in the transfer market.

Quinn said: "What I would say is he hopes we will be clever enough to trade intelligently, and as long as he feels we are doing it intelligently - and Steve (Bruce) has a great track record at this point - he will back us to a point that makes sense.

"There's a lot of stuff out there in the Premier League that's not making sense. We have to be diligent.

"Ellis has a serious track record of improving assets, and it's not by being foolish. It is by being smart and we have to show we can trade properly and build this club's strength up.

"I agree with something Steve said 100 per cent, that you have to be a certain kind of player to perform in the north-east.

"There is a casualty list of players who look good on paper who have come to this region and it hasn't happened for them.

"It may have happened at other places, and you do need a special temperament. You need an extraordinary desire level and an ability to overcome because the demands are tough here.

"But I just get the feeling that Steve Bruce troops, his scouts in the field, they ain't looking for the fella who is going to make the back page headlines and every club in the land will chase.

"They are looking for the guy who will stick his chest out and become a player, and if you put ability on top of that, then we could have a proper Sunderland player in the making."