Barnsley boss has bigger budget

Barnsley Football Club owner Patrick Cryne has backed his manager with a bigger budget for the 2008/2009 season.

Cryne told the Yorkshire Evening Post:

'He will have significant funding behind him. It's not extravagant in the sense of Premiership teams, or the funds available to those teams with parachute payments.

Alongside Blackpool, the Reds are favourites to be relegated from the Championship this season, but everyone at Oakwell is determined to prove the doubters wrong once again:

'But we recognise that we need to be competitive in relation to the targets we have set so the manager will have significant funding. We can't recruit the Ronaldos, but we can recruit people to perform creditably and we have the funds to do that.

'Now it's up to Simon whom he sees as playing for us.'

Meanwhile there has been no interest shown in club captain Brian Howard, despite the midfielder being linked with a number of premier league clubs.

Patrick continued:

'Despite the newspaper talk we have had no discussions with Brian or his agent or with any team that might want him. At this point there is more speculation than substance.

'His contract is up at the end of next season and we've not spoken with, or been asked anything by, his agent. I would very much like to keep Brian and I don't see why we shouldn't.'

So despite the club owner`s intention to back Barnsley with perhaps around two million pounds, the bookies still price the Reds at 100/1 to win the league, joint highest odds with Lancashire club Blackpool.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.