Sacked Celtic supremo Kenny Dalglish was in Bray this morning to help his mate Pat Devlin, manager of Bray Wanderers, unveil a significant new sponsorship deal.

The three-year deal, involving an undisclosed "six-figure" sum, is with communications giant NTL - who also sponsor Glasgow Celtic and, incidentally, old-firm rivals Rangers. Bray meet Celtic in a pre-season friendly this Sunday at the Carlisle Grounds.

NTL last year established a commercial presence in Ireland, paying £500m for the Pipe-TV Company Cablelink.

Devlin hailed the sponsorship agreement as "a great deal for the club", while Dalglish said the announcement made it a great day for Irish football.

And he revealed that there was more good news for the club last night, when the local authority - Wanderers' landlord - voted in favour of an extended lease on their home ground.