St James' Park: Home of Newcastle United(credit:
Wikipedia)
Newcastle United have confirmed losses of £17.1m for the year they spent in the Championship.
United crashed out of the Premier League in 2009 and were forced to part with the likes of Sebastien Bassong, Geremi, Damien Duff and Obafemi Martins in cost-cutting measures.
Their drop to the second tier of English football led to a 39% drop in turnover for the year ending June 30, 2010, while the accounts did reveal owner Mike Ashley pumped a further £42m into the North East outfit.
Managing director Derek Llambias said: “Our overriding aim in 2009-10 was to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
“Relegation presented a considerable challenge for us financially.
“With such a marked reduction in turnover, largely due to reduced TV and media revenue, we needed to cut our operating costs accordingly without jeopardising our ability to return to top flight football straight away.
“It has been a significant achievement to keep our overall loss at a level similar to the year before despite the impact of relegation, and our ability to do this has been helped immeasurably by the continued financial support of Mike Ashley.”