Scottish Football Clubs To Cut Costs

Over half of all professional football clubs in Scotland are planning to cut wages and squad sizes in the face of economic uncertainty.

The latest figures are part of an exclusive BBC Scotland survey carried out to gauge what effect the financial downturn is having on the game.

Over 80% of all chief executives and chairmen interviewed admitted they are suffering because of the credit crunch with most stating they expected the problem to get worse.

Salaries in Scottish football have already been cut in recent years as clubs realised they were living well beyond their means.

Spiralling debts were addressed by cutting wages and tempering the expectations of those picking up the cheques. Now, most clubs believe more cost cutting is needed to help satisfy the banks.

When asked if they planned to lower wages or cut squad sizes, 52% of clubs said yes. Others said that they already had and would continue to monitor the situation closely.

Figures also obtained by BBC Scotland show a dramatic dip in transfer activity during the January window with, year-on-year, the movement of players falling by 11%.