'Red flags' as County face 'very tough' financial futurepublished at 11:55

Roy MacGregor and Steven Ferguson are hoping to steer Ross County back to the top flight
Ross County will find it "very tough" financially following their relegation from the Scottish Premiership considering they were recently losing £20,000 per week in the top flight, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Chief executive Steven Ferguson told BBC Scotland earlier this week that they will suffer the "financial hit" but hinted that chairman Roy MacGregor will provide funds necessary to mount a promotion challenge.
Maguire suggested the Dingwall club had done "spectacularly well" to stay in the Premiership since 2019 given they had the lowest income, generating less than £4m based on their 2023 accounts.
He said the club had been "effectively punching above its weight in terms of its finances".
County were advanced around £1.7m by people connected to the club and those loans were written off, which Maguire says is a sign of great benevolence that would only become a problem should the owners run out of funds to prop up the club or decide to change the funding model.
Maguire described County's delay in publishing their 2024 accounts as "a small red flag" and suggested that the £20,000 per week losses in their most recently published accounts made for a tough starting point when facing a reduction in revenue next season.
The biggest expense for most clubs is the wage bill and County were already paying out more in wages than they were generating in revenue - another red flag for Maguire.
They were paying £102 in wages for every £100 that came in the door, which is by far the highest in the Premiership, and much higher than the recommendation by European governing body Uefa to keep it below £70.