Swansea City Supporters Trust warn club's future is at risk unless players accept pay cuts
Fans have warned that the very future of the club is at stake
By Tom Coleman
Wednesday 6th May 2020
Swansea City Supporters Trust has warned the club's future will be at risk unless urgent action is taken to cut the wage bill.
The Trust says the Professional Footballers' Association needs to change its stance on only accepting wage deferrals amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
It claims players and the union need to accept the "harsh reality" that current costs are currently unsustainable, and has urged for appropriate action to be taken in order to alleviate the financial burden created by the suspension of the season.
There is still plenty of debate over what will happen to the rest of the current campaign, but any resumption of action is likely to be behind closed doors.
That is likely to come as a huge financial hit to clubs, with EFL chairman Rick Parry admitting on Tuesday that many would be facing a "£200m hole" by September, adding that some clubs could well end up going under.
Swansea have already announced wage deferrals for their playing squad in a bid to ease the burden on their finances, although chairman Trevor Birch has warned that there could well be further financial challenges.
Following a meeting with the club, a trust statement claimed : "The future of our football club is of great importance to us all. Without appropriate action being taken, its future is at risk.
"In terms of the playing squad and management teams, we need to ensure our costs match the new realities. It is patently clear that deferring costs until some unspecified point in the future is unsustainable.
"Without promotion to the Premier League, or a significant amount of investment, there will be no realistic way to pay them in the future.
"Cuts to the wage bill and other operating costs will be necessary for the duration of this crisis, and potentially longer as the economy tries to recover.
"The longer footballers and their union refuse to accept that a cut in wages is necessary, the more chance that we will see clubs enter administration or liquidation. This may seem unfair, however it is a harsh reality that costs cannot remain the same when revenues are cut so dramatically."
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