Dons Debt Increases To £11m

This figure is up from last year's £9.6m debt and bucks the SPL trend of debt reduction, although this is mainly due to the Old Firm tightening the belts and Hearts' removal from independent financial scrutiny by Vladimir Romanov.

Aberdeen FC has announced an operating loss of £146,000 on a turnover of £6.8m, down from £7.2m last year.

However, this is in line with the estimate issued by the Club in March of this year, and the vital wages-to-turnover ratio remained at 58 per cent; below the industry recommended 60 per cent.

Pittodrie Executive Director, Head of Operations Duncan Fraser told RedWeb: "At the outset the key was to allow enable [sic] the first team squad to be developed without jeopardising the financial stability that has been delivered over the past couple of years.

"This was achieved, not only by paying out transfer fees but by increasing the overall base football budget by 10 per cent.

"The key to balancing all this was to ensure that the bonus structure reflected the changes and therefore we were able to hit our budgeted figure for the second year in succession, whilst maintaining our wages to turnover ratio.

"With the strong management structure on and off the park in place, as well as proper accountability and controls, and the innovation that has been demonstrated, the Club is moving in the right direction to ensure it's long term prosperity."

The club has confirmed that its Annual General Meeting will take place in Pittodrie Stadium's Richard Donald Suite at 7 pm on Monday December 11th.

Aberdeen-Mad will investigate the figures further and report fully next week.