Cyrille Regis warns players may soon be earning minimum wage salaries
His fears coincide with Blues chairman David Gold’s admission that he would be faced with cutting the £22 million a year wage bill “dramatically” should Alex McLeish’s team fail to achieve promotion to the top flight.
Gold said: “If we are not promoted, we have got some options. One, you cut your wage bill dramatically because although you have got another year of parachute payments, you are already behind because clubs will have shortfalls on their income.”
Other Midland clubs facing the prospect of slashing costs are League One side Cheltenham Town, who narrowly avoided administration this season before boss Martin Allen announced that every player at the club was up for sale.
And Port Vale have entered talks with potential investors who they hope will pump much-needed funds in to the club.
Meanwhile, Southampton’s holding company, Southampton Leisure Holding, last week entered administration.
The Professional Footballers Association (PFA) said it was running courses to help players find work after their careers come to an end following an average of eight years.
Chief executive Gordon Taylor said: “I don’t want to come over all doom and gloom but it would be naive to think that the credit crunch won’t catch up with football at some point,” he said. “We have to try to offer something for the five out of six apprentices who don’t make the grade at 21 or 22 as well as the professionals, regardless of when they leave the game.”
