Soccer: City chairman promises ‘‘maximum backing’’

Manchester City have secured a £5m windfall ahead of their Barclaycard Premiership campaign next season.

The First Division champions announced today they have clinched a shirt sponsorship deal with financial and legal services group First Advice.

The three-year contract will kick in next season when the club aim to cement their place in the top flight.

Chairman David Bernstein re-emphasised his intention to give manager Kevin Keegan maximum cash backing in the top flight.

After signing former Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, the former England boss is determined to bring other big names to Maine Road.

Bernstein said: ‘‘When people say is this new sponsorship money available for players, it is a bit of a naive question. You have to look at the overall position.

‘‘What I can say is our income next season will go up by more than 50% and that is the key figure.

‘‘That sort of level of income gives us the critical mass to have the sort of squad we need to have in the Premier League.

‘‘We have got a great squad of players but we will be adding to that squad. There will be two or three big names coming to the club.

‘‘When Kevin joined us, we made a commitment for the First Division which we exceeded.

‘‘We have made a commitment to the Premier League which we will exceed. We don’t want to minimise our backing, we want to maximise it and do the very most we can.

‘‘With everything going for us and the momentum we have, there is tremendous potential here and we might surprise a few people in the Premiership.’’

Bernstein is delighted with the tie-up with First Advice, especially in the current climate.

‘‘It’s a very good deal in every sense in what is quite a difficult football environment,’’ he said.

‘‘The figure out there is about £5million. That’s a fair estimate. It’s the largest deal of this type the club have done.’’

Keegan said: ‘‘We have made it clear we are out there looking for top-notch players. This is a very exciting time for the club and it is important we keep the momentum going.’’

Former England defender Stuart Pearce’s future remains unclear, however. He intends to retire after the game against Portsmouth and would ideally like a coaching role at the club.

Bernstein said: ‘‘We need to find the right position for him. It is no good having an artificial position.

‘‘It has to be something that is right for him and the club. Kevin and I have to talk about that so no decision has been made at the moment.’’