Reports today claim that Town need another £13 million to make up their shortfall after the drop into the First Division, even after the departures of Titus Bramble and Matteo Sereni.

The sale of Bramble to Newcastle brought in £4.5 million and took him off the wage bill, while Sereni's loan move to Brescia reduced Town's outgoings by another estimated £1 million.

All summer the club have said that they needed to sell players to make up the shortfall, but with the transfer market as flat as it is the offers are yet to come in.

Despite this David Sheepshanks said earlier this week that the club is not in the perilous state that others find themselves: "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, today's report says the club are getting worried and describes the situation as the biggest financial crisis in the club's professional history.

The summer transfer window ends on August 31st and the Blues are still looking to sell someone by then. Matt Holland, Marcus Bent and Hermann Hreidarsson look the most likely candidates, if recent reports are to be believed.

Town will also receive some income via TV rights on their UEFA Cup games between now and the next window in December. While the Avenir Beggen matches will not be money-spinners, with the Blues likely to be seeded for the next two rounds, a progression up to the third looks more than a possibility.

With the situation constantly being referred to in terms of the shortfall it is difficult to assess the true picture of the club's finances. How much in the red would the club find themselves by the end of next season if no one goes and promotion looks out of the question?

One thing does seem certain, as it has all summer, that senior players have to go to ease the situation.

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