Former Town boss Mick McCarthy has revealed that some Blues players will be taking pay cuts of 50 or 60 per cent in League One.
Republic of Ireland boss McCarthy met with the Irish media earlier in the week, with some quotes relating to Town appearing on Wednesday, and speaking to journalists for the Sunday papers was asked further about the Blues' relegation.
"I feel desperately sad for the players,” he said. "Some are taking big, big pay cuts, 50 or 60 per cent going down, so I’m hearing.
"They were great those lads, the lads who played for me were fantastic. The staff, the club itself.
"But I have to honest, some of them who hounded me out for the last 18 months, I hope they enjoy their sexy football in League One.”
That Town's players were facing significant pay cuts was already known but with their precise extent not confirmed.
The Blues are facing what they expect to be a £9 million drop in income in League One with media, commercial and gate money all set to be down.
McCarthy also said that Blues loanee Will Keane’s qualification for Ireland has now been sorted, as far as he is aware: "I believe so, he’s playing now, I’m hoping he’s got his passport, I think he has.”
Keane, who suffered what's thought to be a recurrence of his hamstring injury at Sheffield United yesterday, qualifies for Ireland through his father.
The ex-Blues manager also revealed that 17-year-old Stoke City central defender Nathan Collins, who has broken into the Potters’ first team in the last three games, spent time training with Town during pre-season before moving to the Staffordshire club from Dublin side Cherry Orchard in 2017.
"Nathan Collins is playing for Stoke, he’s got in the team,” McCarthy said when asked about young Irish players who could come into his thoughts for the June internationals. "We looked at him with Ipswich up in Carton House.
"We didn’t sign him, probably for financial reasons, he’s now at Stoke. He’s now in the first team.”