Aston Villa Football Club

• Nickname:The Villains
• Founded:1874
• Manager:Paul Lambert

• Ground:Villa Park
• Capacity:42584

O'Neill promised major funds

03 May 2007 - 09:32:05

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Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has been promised major funds to launch a summer blitz in the transfer market.

O'Neill is keen to strengthen his squad in a bid to break into the top half of the Premier League standings and American owner Randy Lerner to give the Irishman his full support.

Villa chief executive Richard 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.

"We showed in January that we are prepared to make a big commitment to bringing players in and Randy Lerner has freed up a transfer pot for Martin O'Neill.

"People might have thought we pushed the boat out in signing Ashley Young, but I can guarantee significant funds have been made available which is money coming from the owner.

"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."