Sunderland review options as Wigan value Bruce at £5m

Steve Bruce remains Sunderland's preferred option as their new manager but Wigan Athletic's £5m compensation claim has created an element of doubt about his move to Wearside. Sunderland are thought to have a three-name shortlist and will move with haste if Bruce and his assistant Eric Black are considered unaffordable.

Wigan are willing to let Bruce speak to Sunderland and are understood to have lined up the Swansea City manager and former Wigan player, Roberto Martinez, as a replacement, but there will be no movement until Wigan compromise on their fee. Wigan paid Birmingham approximately £3m for Bruce in November 2007.

Sunderland yesterday confirmed that the majority shareholder Ellis Short had assumed full control of the club – the Irish Drumaville consortium have been bought out – and the American's vast wealth has led to speculation about a £200m investment.

Sunderland have ridiculed this figure and their willingness to withdraw from the pursuit of Bruce due to finance shows that Short will not bankroll any transfer, player or manager. But the club revealed yesterday morning that Short's economic power enabled Sunderland to resist a £20m offer from Tottenham for Kenwyne Jones in January and Quinn described Short's "financial muscle" as the "next ingredient".

"We can start to look at recruitment of players in a different light," Quinn said, "but we have to be smart. Ellis is nobody's fool. He's not here to sing and dance about what he does, he's here to see a smart business operation. The whip is really cracking now and that's what we need. It means the club has a great chance going forward." Quinn first met Short at the Ryder Cup in 2006 and the American made an initial investment soon after. Last summer his money funded much of Roy Keane's transfer policy, but not much is known about Short other than he is the president of Lone Star funds, a private equity company based in Dallas. He also owns Skibo castle in Scotland.

"Even before today he has personally invested more in Sunderland than all previous chairmen, directors and owners combined," Quinn said of Short. "Late last summer he injected tens of millions of pounds to fund our new signings and the resultant increased wage bill." On the managerial situation, Quinn added: "It would be foolish for us to jump in and go for the first name available. There's a process to be gone through and the main part of that process is identifying someone who is available who will bring a different mentality, a mentality that puts the heart outside the jersey, so you can see the effort and commitment.

"They have to change the mentality in the dressing room. Everything will rub off on that, so we need a strong character, hopefully with plenty of experience of doing that, who can spot a good player. We need someone who can lead, make men out of the talented players we've got."

Bruce has said that he is "flattered" by Sunderland's interest, which is short-hand for wanting the job. Wigan's awareness of that means they have started planning without him.