Kieran Maguire discusses financial impact of Burnley's relegation from the Premier League

That’s the verdict of football finance expert Kieran Maguire, who expects the Clarets to sell a number of their most prized assets again to help fund the shortfall in TV revenue.

Future uncertainty, however, could be caused further down the line should the club fail to secure promotion back to the top flight.

It comes after Burnley’s third straight relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on Wednesday night following their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City.

Now the club’s fate has finally been sealed, the Burnley Express spoke with Maguire, a senior teacher in accountancy at the University of Liverpool who also runs the Price of Football podcast, to assess the impact of relegation.

What financial impact will relegation have?

“Burnley future-proof themselves by budgeting in terms of recruitment, and also by the wage structure that they have, along with some fairly severe relegation clauses in the contract.

“It’s tricky because we don't even know the extent of their finances for last season when they were promoted, because we’re still waiting for the accounts to be published.

“But there's no economic shock, there's no trauma as far as Burnley's finances are concerned. They'll sell a few players, they'll recruit some more with a view to being that yo-yo club, which they have become.

“I think it'll be a wee bit tougher next season, because there are some decent sides in that division. But they will have that financial advantage, because they've got the parachute payments.”

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Burnley had a bit of a chaotic fire sale after their last relegation. Do you think it will be the same again?

“I don’t think so, but a lot would depend on Scott Parker.

“If he's around for next season, then he will want the core of the squad that he's familiar with from this season of those lads who want to play and I think they want to play for him as well. “So yeah, I don't think we'll see the exit door used to the same extent.

“Vincent Kompany was very much an experiment, whereas I think Scott Parker is more of a steady eddy.”

How much are they likely to lose in revenue?

“The last accounts showed their revenue went down from around £133m to £65m and the majority of that will be down to parachute payments.

“Parachute payments have actually gone up a wee bit in the last couple of seasons, so it’s likely to be between £60m and £70m.

“You're not going to increase your matchday income in Burnley, regardless of the division. But to a certain extent, they'll have a benefit in the sense that the front of shirt deal next season in the Premier League would have been a non-gambling company, so that rule doesn't apply in the EFL.”

What happens if they don’t get promoted at the first attempt?

“I mean, the model is geared towards coming back.

“I think they've got enough ballast in terms of players and there's no urgency for some of the loans to be repaid. They'll just have to acclimatise more and you still get decent parachute payments in year two of relegation.

“I think the fear for Burnley is that they don't go up in those two seasons in particular. You risk becoming a Huddersfield and you sort of find a new benchmark within the football environment.

“Burnley have, in my view, they've performed really well in recent years. They've punched above their weight on many an occasion and I think that's created an expectation amongst the fanbase that that's the norm. But that's not necessarily the case.

“You talk to fans of clubs such as Stoke and Charlton, who again had fairly long periods in the Premier League and then dropped out for a few years, they didn't manage to use the parachutes to get back and it can be a bit of a long haul.

“If they don't get out within two seasons, then you'd have to re-consolidate. There's an awful lot of owners who are putting in £10m to £20m a year in that division to finish 14th and that would be my concern, because I don't think that's Alan Pace’s desire.”

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