SAM Allardyce has been warned not to expect a transfer windfall from the profits he has helped generate.

The Wanderers boss will be given funds to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window but he will have to follow the now-familiar route of free transfers and loan signings.

The success of finishing eighth in the Premiership and runners-up in the Carling Cup last season was reflected in the balance sheet which shows Burnden Leisure, the football club's parent company, made a profit of £2.6m last season, increasing turnover by 29 per cent and reducing its debt by over £3m.

But with the club still owing £36.1m and a cut in TV revenue on the way, cash remains tight, and the transfer strategy is likely to remain unchanged.

Allan Duckworth, chief executive of Burnden Leisure, said: "We won't make a decision about whether there is room for a little bit more investment in the squad until we get nearer to January but I suspect it will be more of the same.

"We have had to work hard over the last five or six years to make sure our expenditure matched our revenue streams because the club was previously in such a precarious financial state.

"It has been a painful process because individual wages are still going up. But we have managed to reduce the squad size by getting rid of some fringe players, which has allowed us to invest in more quality.

"We know that TV money will be flat over the next three years, which is something else we have had to build into our plans."

With turnover up by 29 per cent and salaries down by £1million, Wanderers are clearly heading in the right direction on and off the field, although, as Mr Duckworth pointed out, without the final payment of £2.75m from the sale of the old Burnden Park site, the club would only have broken even.

In addition to making major inroads into their debt. there were healthy performances right across the business.

TV income was up 34pc to £24.8m, commercial activities increased and the De Vere Whites hotel, in which Burnden Leisure has a 50pc share, increased its turnover by 9.3pc to £7.7m.

Burnden Leisure's turnover was up from 37.9m to 48.8m while the football club's turnover enjoyed a massive rise of £10.1m to £40.9m.

The fans played their part with gate receipts increasing by 45 per cent, due to the average Premiership attendance at the Reebok Stadium rising by seven per cent to 26,700, increased ticket pricing and the club reaching the Carling Cup Final.

Mr Duckworth added: "We are making steady progress throughout the business which is the way we like to do it here. The figures tell a story of more of the same.

"It is like we have always said; slowly but surely we are getting it right."