Town chairman David Sheepshanks says he fears that the Premiership may ultimately close off promotion from the Natiowide League. He also says that despite football's current financial mess Town are in a stable position.

In an interesting Guardian piece (http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,769196,00.html) Sheepshanks said: "My biggest fear is that the Premiership could seal off its bottom, do away with the idea of relegation because, increasingly, clubs will be unable to cope with the dire consequences of dropping out of that league.

"The Premiership chairmen may well feel that the prospect is so awful that it should not be allowed to happen. And that could spell disaster for the entire game.

"It could mean the likes of Wolves, Nottingham Forest, Norwich, Leicester, Derby and Ipswich being cut adrift for ever. We are talking about destroying the very fabric of what makes football such an exciting game."

Sheepshanks unsurprisingly had strong words on the role of ITV Digital and its parent companies in football's current malaise: "The ITV companies are at fault. Morally, ethically and in every other respect they are liable for the debts of their subsidiaries despite the recent judgment.

"As it is, the consequences of relegation to the First Division can be catastrophic. The Premiership is a very strong brand and will continue to be so. But the First Division is not a very happy place at the moment. In fact it's a horror story."

Despite this he feels Town are in a relatively safe position: "The position of this club is strong. The infrastructure is sound and we have managed to develop the value of our players.

"These players are now interesting other clubs, so we'll be OK, even if we have to shoot ourselves in the foot to balance the books.

"But the financial situation in the First Division is somewhere between poor and dire. It's a combination of the collapse of the TV deal, the general depressed state of the football economy and the advent of transfers windows."

However, he stresses the importance of Town making a swift return to the Premiership: "I've swallowed the bitter pill of relegation. I always thought we would pull out of it, though once we had been beaten at Bolton I knew it would be very hard.

"There were a number of reasons for our relegation and none is to blame in isolation. But our qualification for Europe was the common factor to many of our problems.

"We had too much too quickly and it went to our heads a little, even though we resolved that that very thing should not be allowed to happen. Having punched way beyond our weight the previous season, when we were fifth, we punched well below our weight last season.

"But at least the situation is not like it was when we were last relegated in 1995. We were in a real mess then, with an ageing squad and low morale. Many thought we might do a Swindon and drop two divisions in as many seasons. Our relegation then was the catalyst for the regeneration of this club."

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls