New Crawley manager Sean O’Driscoll has been told he will have money to spend on players.

O’Driscoll was named on Wednesday as the permanent replacement for Steve Evans who resigned in April.

Evans was given extensive financial support from the Crawley board to bring success to the club and he also brought in significant funds this season through the sales of strikers Matt Tubbs and Tyrone Barnett.

O’Driscoll, pictured, will want to mould his own squad at the Broadfield Stadium and chief executive Alan Williams has confirmed he will be backed by the board.

Williams said: “Sean will have money to spend and that was all part of the recruitment process.

“Sean wanted to know where we could take this and what we could make available to help him achieve the ambition that we have.

“The board will make funds available for Sean to try to achieve that.”

While it was Coppell who identified O’Driscoll as the man to take Crawley forward, it did not take long to convince Williams that they had found a gem.

Williams secured his own references for a variety of sources and all of them backed the choice.

He said: “I spoke to numerous people, players that had played for him, people that had worked with him, supporters that supported clubs he has managed because that is important.

“It is important we deliver a brand of football that is exciting and people want to watch. Everyone told me the same thing – he plays an exciting brand of football, does things the right way and puts in place structures that will give you longevity as a football club.

“Very shortly after agreeing to take the job he was sitting down with our academy director talking about the youth set-up and where he wants to take it. That, for me, shows somebody who is looking to build a strong football club from the very bottom to the very top.”