Barnsley: Reds have money to spend in January, says Paul Heckingbottom

The Reds were taken over before Christmas by a consortium led by Chinese billionaire Chien Lee.

Co-chairman Paul Conway has said the new board will not “do anything crazy” in terms of splashing the cash.

However, Heckingbottom has a pot of money to delve into as he looks to turn around the club’s Championship fortunes on the pitch around.

“I don’t know (what we’re working with), but I know there’s money to spend and we can sign players,” he said.

“We may have money to spend on transfers, but our wage (budget) is the same.”

The club have had a policy of signing players from the lower leagues and developing them into first-team talent.

But Heckingbottom insists the club need to go against the grain in the next window to make the team stronger.

A striker is at the top of his shopping list.

The Reds are only three points clear of the drop zone after nine games without a victory and Heckingbottom is desperate to get back to winning ways.

He added: “We signed a lot of players in the summer from the lower leagues, who we’re taking a chance on, and we’re getting the benefit of them growing together.

“But we also need players who are going to come in and make our 11 better straight away.

“That’s the difference, for me. There’s no real benefit in signing players with potential in this window.

“There are long-term targets we want, but there are a few areas we need to strengthen between now and the end of the season. Everyone knows the areas we want to strengthen.

Tomorrow Barnsley host Reading just six games after they fell 3-0 in the reverse fixture.