NOTTINGHAM Forest have won £250,000 to spend on new players – a day after being hit with a transfer embargo.

The Football League confirmed on Monday that Forest, along with Blackburn Rovers and Leeds United, were one of three Championship clubs to have fallen foul of Financial Fair Play regulations.

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It means the trio will be prevented from paying fees for signings until the summer at least.

But yesterday Forest landed the Sky Bet Transfer Fund prize of £250,000 at the Wembley draw.

The City Ground outfit were chosen at random from nine Football League clubs with Leeds, Fulham, Cardiff City, Watford, Wigan Athletic, Huddersfield Town, Exeter City and Southend United those to miss out on the windfall.

Forest boss Stuart Pearce will not be able to splash the cash on new recruits who cost a fee.

But, under the rules of the embargo, he will be able to use it to fund the wages of any players he brings in on loan or on a free transfer once the window for signings reopens next month.

Former Scotland international John O’Hare, a two-time European Cup winner with Forest, represented the club at Wembley and picked up the award.

“The club will be happy,” he said.

“I’m sure they’ll find a way of using the money on young players’ salaries, loans and things like that.

“It will help certainly in what is a very tough and competitive division. You need all the help you can get.”