St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright admits building a competitive squad while aiming to balance the books at the Perth club is a tough ask.
But, then again, he knew exactly what he was getting into when he took the job on.
Despite the playing budget being slashed again, Saints reported a near £200,000 loss in their annual accounts covering the 2012/13 season earlier this week, a sum which represented their fifth successive financial hit year-on-year.
All that suggests that the task of putting together a squad capable of competing in the upper echelons of the SPFL Premiership is only about to get harder for Wright and his management team, but the Saints boss is happy enough with what he’s managed to achieve so far.
“It’s a challenge, but I knew that when I took the job,” he said.
“The budget has decreased and Steve Lomas had less than what Derek McInnes was getting. They cut the budget last year again and we’ve had to cut it this year.
“I don’t want to put figures on it but it’s cut quite substantially this year, which had to be done. But I think we’ve got a decent squad together for the money.
“I think as well what’s helped is that players and a few agents have realised that there isn’t the money there any more, but I think it’s the same all over.
“So it has been difficult but I think we’ve been helped by a realisation from players that the money isn’t there. What helps this club is it’s a stable club and players know that if we say we are going to pay you ‘X’ they’ll get it.
“We also have a decent bonus system to give incentives to the players and again I think it’s a good way to go. The better you do, the more you get paid.
“We’ve had to cut that as well but that’s where we are that’s reality and every club is the same. But I’m pleased with the squad we’ve got and I’m pleased we’re bang on budget.”
Chairman Steve Brown revealed earlier this week that reduced income from football’s governing bodies, reduced TV income and an average crowd of 3,700 means the days of paying large salaries and bonuses to players are over, and he warned that more work had to be done in terms of increasing revenue while also cutting costs where possible in all areas of the club’s business.
Saints still have over £1 million in the bank, while they were also able to net £50,000 compensation from former manager Lomas’s move to Millwall, but times remain tough for the Perth club.
However, Wright has been delighted with the way younger players have been able to flourish through the ranks at McDiarmid Park, highlighting the likes of Stevie May and Liam Caddis who have come back to the club as more rounded players following loan spells elsewhere.
Wright also pinpointed Scott Brown, Gareth Rodger and Chris Kane as under-20 players who he believes could figure for the first team in the months to come, with similar loan moves an option at Wright’s disposal if he so wished.
“It is a good thing for them and you want them to play at a decent level,” he noted.
“I think we’ve enough seniors in the squad but the good thing is from our point of view that some of the younger players have come in and chipped in already this season. I see no reason why they can’t continue to do that.”