Wanderers' fans were this week given 24 million reasons why the club was forced to sell their rising stars, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Claus Jensen, last summer.

On June 30 of this year, Burnden Leisure plc - the football club's parent company - was in debt to the tune of £24.8 million.

And that is why Sam Allardyce - despite offloading his two brightest young talents to Chelsea and Charlton, respectively, for £4 million apiece and having brought in a further £3 million in sales to help balance the books - is still having to shop in what he calls "the bargain basement".

For, while efforts are being made to improve the financial performance of the plc, the debt burden remains high with interest charges alone amounting to £1.5 million in the last financial year.

"The management and reduction of the debt remains our over-riding priority," says Burnden chief executive Allan Duckworth in his review of operations, published with the company's annual report on Tuesday.

"Major changes were needed," Mr Duckworth adds, "and these have, necessarily, taken time to implement and to bed in. This change process is now well advanced and we now have in place strong foundations for future growth."

Recent initiatives, including season ticket discounts and more active marketing of the football club plus the new De Vere Whites Hotel, which opened on October 30, and the financial success of the Oasis pop concerts have helped on that score.

But the lack of transfer funds of the magnitude previous manager Colin Todd had at his disposal underlines the fact that there is still some way to go before things are back on an even keel.

Despite the massive debt - a consequence of borrowing to build the Reebok Stadium and latterly the Whites Hotel coupled with the team's failure to regain its Premiership status - Burnden still managed to increase its turnover in the last financial year (£13.4m compared to £12.6m) and cut its losses by half (£2.7m against £5.4m). And operating expenses were slashed by 11 per cent - largely by "controlling football wage costs".

But it is abundantly clear from the balance sheet that Wanderers cannot live by football alone! Gate receipts last season were down from £5.1m to £4.6m and merchandise sales were down from £1.2m to £800,000 - worrying figures if the trends continue.

Hence the board's determination to utilise every inch of space and every ounce of potential of the Reebok Stadium and the continuing plan, as chairman, Phil Gartside, puts it "to build Burnden Leisure into a broad based sports, media and leisure company."