OWEN Coyle plans to save cash this summer by raiding the World Cup for signings before players get on the plane to South Africa.

The Wanderers boss was able to begin his search for fresh blood in earnest this week, after the club’s Premier League safety was confirmed.

And with this summer’s tournament on the immediate horizon, he has hinted that he could conduct some early business in order to avoid paying over the odds for the talent involved.

“If there are players in the World Cup that we would like, and would serve us well at the football club then if we’ve done our job properly, then we will have signed them before they get to the tournament,” he said.

“If they go to the World Cup and do well then those prices will be inflated.

“Of course, we have to put ourselves in a pecking order compared to some of the major forces in world football, with what players we would be looking at.

“But I’m always a great believer with these major championships that if there is a player you want, then you do your business early.”

The Wanderers boss has distanced himself from reports of a massive summer clear-out at the Reebok, re-iterating that only one regular first team player – Gavin McCann – sees his deal expire at the end of June.

But he accepts that a handful of his squad who will not be guaranteed regular football next term will be given the chance to move elsewhere.

“There is a nucleus of players in this squad who I see as players who can help to take this club on,” he said. “Equally, I accept that there are one or two that probably won’t figure in my plans for the club.

“At the end of the season, I’ll sit down and talk to those players and take it from there. It might well be that there’s a little bit of juggling involved, but that’s the same with any football club. That’s not because a new manager has come in, that’s because any manager, anywhere, is lacking somewhere in his squad and looking to put that freshness in somewhere.

“I’ve never intonated to anyone that there will be a big clear out – so whether people have taken it upon themselves to write that, it’s down to them.

“I don’t deal in speculation. I deal in fact. And when there is something concrete to tell fans of Bolton Wanderers, they will be the first to know.”

Although he has been unable to talk publicly on the matter until survival was secured, Coyle has already drawn up a shortlist of potential targets with his assistant Sandy Stewart.

“There’s no doubts we have had chats about it, but we couldn’t put anything in place until such time as we achieved our objectives and got safe,” he said.

“We talk long into the night about players who can improve this football club but there are a number of things that must come to fruition for that to happen – the player must be up for sale, the finances must be in place and he’s got to want to come to you.

“Equally, if there are one or two players at my club who teams are courting, I don’t want to lose anyone, I want to build. There might be one or two who are not figuring as much as they would like and maybe they want another challenge. It’s up to us to balance books as well.”