BLACKBURN Rovers chief executive John Williams today said the board will do everything in their power to provide Mark Hughes with money to spend in the transfer window.

Rovers boss Hughes has indicated he wants to freshen up his squad by bringing in a couple of new faces next month.

But with finances tight at Ewood, Williams and his directors will have to dig deep to give Hughes the kind of spending power he craves.

The days of Rovers splashing out big money on top players is long gone but Williams has pledged to give Hughes 'every spare penny' in his quest to strengthen a squad that continues to be haunted by the threat of relegation.

"Whatever surplus money we've got, we'll spend," said Williams today.

The board face a difficult dilemma as the club battles to beat the drop.

Last season, they budgeted to finish in mid-table but a poor season on the pitch meant they failed to live up to expectations, which resulted in a shortfall of £3 million at the end of the campaign.

This term, the budget was again set at a similar level but with Rovers currently lying in 17th place, they are again likely to suffer a shortfall in Premier League merit money.

However, the cost of relegation would be far greater than that so the directors face a difficult decision in determining exactly how much they can afford to speculate in January.

In terms of sheer numbers, there's plenty of strength in depth in the current squad but Hughes is keen to add a couple of players who are capable of going straight into the side.

"We clearly aren't in the big money market anymore," said Williams.

"I think Mark is quite pleased with the overall depth of the squad so we've got to go for people who are going to get straight into the team, which won't be easy."

One option may be to bring in a couple of players on short-term deals - a strategy which has proved successful at Bolton in the past.

Several fringe members of the squad - like Javier De Pedro - may also be shipped out to free up some money in the wage bill.

Rovers have already been linked with a number of players ahead of the window, the latest being Crewe striker Dean Ashton.

But as I understand it, if Hughes does decide to bring in a striker then he's likely to go for someone with more experience than the 21-year-old, bearing in mind he already has Paul Gallagher, Jon Stead and Jay Bothroyd on the books.

Meanwhile, Tottenham defender Thimothee Atouba has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association.

The charge relates to an incident involving Paul Dickov during the match at Ewood on Saturday, which Spurs won 1-0.

Atouba has until 6pm tomorrow to respond with the case scheduled to be heard at a disciplinary commission on December 10.

Rovers' reserves are in action at Everton tonight (kick off 7pm).

Manager Glyn Hodges has again named a youthful squad containing a number of Academy players.

The squad is: Drench, Peers, Morgan, Douglas, Bruce, McEveley, Donnelly, Harkins, Johnson, Derbyshire, Peter, Barker, Fielding, Hodge, Nolan, L Jones.

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