Burnley needed promotion to stay afloat

Burnley lost a huge £11.7 million last season.

The full extent of the Lancashire club's financial tightrope walk was revealed in their accounts yesterday and proved how close they sailed to the wind, says the Mirror.

Chairman Barry Kilby and money-man Brendan Flood had been picking up the tab for past deficits, but the latest figure could have left them in real peril if they had not beaten Sheffield United at Wembley to reach the Premier League.

Missing out on the Premier League cash could have seen a handful of sales just to claw back money - confirming the play-off success as the biggest day in their history.