Gold: spending will take Blues over budget

Birmingham City chairman David Gold has admitted the club will be going “over budget” next season as they strive to build a squad capable of surviving in the Barclaycard Premiership.

Gold conceded that the club are geared up to splash out all the money they are guaranteed to receive next season on new players and improving facilities.

Blues have already brought in Robbie Savage, Aliou Cisse, Kenny Cunningham and club record signing Clinton Morrison this summer as well as upgrading facilities at their Wast Hills training ground.

And manager Steve Bruce is also likely to be given the go-ahead to add at least one more new face before their Premiership season kicks off on August 18 at champions Arsenal.

Gold told PA Sport: “We have committed ourselves to spending all the money that we are going to generate in the next 10 months.

“Every single penny has been committed to strengthening the squad, to improving the facilities and the infrastructure.

“This will take us over budget. We will be spending more money than our income. But that’s not to say there isn’t another player in that budget.

“What I am saying is that by the time we finish, we will have by the end of this financial campaign gone over budget by four, five or maybe six million pounds.”

Gold admitted: “We’ve spent a huge amount of money on establishing ourselves as a Premiership club. We’re spending millions in areas that existing Premiership clubs don’t have to do so – like the training ground.

“For example, a car park can cost half a million pounds but you can’t have Premiership players arriving at the training ground with potholes and a muddy car park. You just have to do it.

“Then we have to put security in place at the training ground. building fences etc. It all costs money but you can’t have people wandering around at a Premiership training ground.

“It all costs money in the first year but hopefully next year you’ll spend a quarter of that so then more can go on strengthening your squad and improving your competitiveness.”