Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn insists his club is not punching above its weight.

The Black Cats have been linked with a series of high-profile targets in recent weeks, chief among them Diego Forlan, Jussi Jaaskelainen, Alan Smith and Paul Scholes.

Quinn admitted the club's interest in Preston striker David Nugent, but is giving little else away, other than to confirm they are taking an ambitious approach to their rebuilding programme.

"We don't think we are punching above the club's weight in taking the approach we have in appointing (manager) Roy (Keane) and being ambitious with the players we are looking to sign.

"And we believe that the club will sustain our approach over a period of time. We can't say it will - that's the gamble," he told the Sunderland Echo.

"But that's our hope, our aim and we want the rest of the footballing world to sit up and say, 'Hey, this is a big club and now it's awake.' You can't get a reaction like that just by hoping."

Sunderland have a budget of around £25million to fund their bid for Premier League consolidation, although Quinn is acutely aware of the new cash which has come into the game with the latest TV deal and a series of high-profile takeovers

He said: "We believe in Roy and we are prepared to fund that belief.  But other clubs are doing that too, which makes it all very interesting, and that's why the game of football is as great as it is.

"There's a lot of new money coming into the Premiership, new owners and that means that there's more than just the top four for us to compete against. It's all there to be played for.

"But we feel we are at a club that can be so big that it is right for us to do this, to look to be ambitious in the transfer market."