By David Gold
March 31 – Newcastle United have insisted that the club remains intent on re-establishing itself as a European contender despite recording a loss after player trading of £17.1 million ($27.4 million) for the year ending June 2010.
The accounts cover the year in which the club were playing in the Championship, as owner Mike Ashley (pictured) put money into the club’s ultimately successful return to the Premier League.
Managing Director Derek Llambias said: “Mike knows where we want to be and where we should be in four or five years’ time.
“Our vision for the club is to finish 10th or above every year, year after year.
“That is our target – we want to be challenging for Europe every season.”
Ashley gave the club £42 million ($67 million) in interest free loans during the 2009-10 season, and Llambias suggested that without that backing, they could have faced bankruptcy.
He said: “Mike Ashley’s money has kept this club buoyant.
“Quite honestly, Newcastle United would not be here without him, it is as simple as that.
“He has never taken a penny out of the football club, but he knows what he has to put in every year and he is keen to grow it.”
The club’s Premier League status is not secure yet this season despite an impressive return to the top flight under Chris Hughton and his successor Alan Pardew.
An increasingly tight relegation tussle means that any of a number of teams, including Newcastle, could still be sucked into the bottom three.
Ashley has struggled to win over fans and the media during his time at the club after his handling of the club during the 2008-2009 season in which they were relegated.
But with the club’s finances boosted by the £35 million sale of striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool in January, they are in a strong position to boost the squad in the summer.
Llambias added: “We are starting to get the stability we need into the football club both financially and within the squad.
“That stability is one of our most important goals, that would give us the security that the club and the playing side needs.”
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