Killie must find transfer budget from somewhere - relegation is far more costly

Counting the losses of the drop would be a lot painful than taking a four-month hit to the pocket.

You only have to look at the most recent set of accounts for the financial year that ended May 2023 to realise the sheer drop off in revenue as a result of playing in the Championship.

Nobody at Kilmarnock will want to admit it, but while the top six remains the aim if your outlook is with a glass half-full, the alternative is to stave off relegation.

And there is no doubt in my mind that counting the costs of a second drop to the second tier of Scottish football in four years would be catastrophic for a number of reasons, none more so than the club’s bank balance.

The club is due to release its accounts, which will cover the 2023/24 season, next month, with shareholders set to be invited to the AGM soon.

The most recent access we have of Killie’s figures is from around 18 months ago, when an operating loss of £1.1m was revealed. Promotion from the Championship, survival in the top-flight and a League Cup semi-final against Celtic were all accounted for during this period.

In the previous year, a loss of £1.8m was posted, which as I previously alluded to, entailed the 2021/22 season grimly spent in the Championship.

The latest accounts revealed that the turnover in May 2023 compared to that of exactly 12 months before was almost double. Items such as season ticket revenue, gate receipts (albeit Covid impacted the Champ year), SPFL fees, UEFA revenues, and prize money were all increased in 2023 than in 2022.

I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.