Tuesday Feb 28 2006 09:45
Hibernian manager Tony Mowbray has defended the club's willingness to sell Scotland striker Garry O'Connor to Lokomotiv Moscow.
The 22-year-old will meet with officials from the Russian club this week to finalise the details of the £1.6million transfer - a move that will see his salary rocket to around £16,000 a week.
Mowbray is disappointed to be losing one of his best players, but insisted the money on offer was too good for either the club or O'Connor to reject the move.
He said: "We have been in talks for a few weeks and there are still a few obstacles to overcome but those obstacles are getting smaller.
"You've got to look at it on a human level. It's a great opportunity for Garry and his family and we couldn't deny him that.
"We work to a budget and the wages they are offering would catapult him out of our stratosphere.
"But if he does go then hopefully we will move towards building a new training facility, something I've been talking about since I came here.
"The club have been doing well trying to find money for it but this could make the difference.
"Hopefully we will be able to get another couple of players in as well although we won't be paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for them.
"We will be working in the same way we have been over the last year or so."
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