Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore is confident that football can ride the current financial crisis. Research has suggested that English top-flight clubs are in a collective debt worth as much as £3billion, and fears have grown for the future of the domestic game in the wake of the consumer credit crunch.

"Debt is neither good or bad, it is inevitable," Scudamore told Sky Sports News.

"It depends on the value of the asset the debt is against, and some of our clubs are hugely valuable assets, certainly the biggest clubs.

"It is also a product of whether you can service the debt. And that is a debate that goes on.

"I'm not saying we don't have concerns, but it is also dangerous to be alarmist in the current financial conditions.

"We have always worried. Football has always spent a little bit more than it has earned.

"People need to be realistic. We are entering interesting financial times.

"But football is very sustainable. Club names are very sustainable, they don't disappear. Revenues are very sustainable.

"We are not complacent, I am not saying we won't at some time feel the wind of the consumer crunch, but generally we are not in such a bad condition."

However, Scudamore believes it will not be feasible to implement a salary cap in the Premier League.

"We have discussed it on and off for 10 years but we don't believe that, with the range of clubs we have, you can come up with a meaningful salary cap," he continued.

"There are only two ways of doing it. A percentage of turnover - where the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea would have a huge potential wage bill.

"Or to put a fixed amount in, what would you fix it at?"