SUPPORTERS are desperate to see some cash splashed and, although he does not complain, Sam Allardyce has never been happy operating under tight cash controls.

But there was more evidence last week of how Wanderers, although struggling to get their head above the Premiership's relegation waters, appear to be getting things right on the finance front.

The fact that they are almost £33 million in the red means they have little or no choice in the matter, of course. They could hardly get away with signing a £5 million cheque for a new striker, for instance, and, if they were to raise a significant sum by selling players, a huge slice of the funds - if not the lot - would probably have to go towards reducing the debt.

Nevertheless, Birmingham's co-owner David Sullivan has instructed his manager Steve Bruce to copy Allardyce's blueprint for Premiership survival while further developments in the salary capping debate serve to highlight how determined Wanderers' chiefs are to keep things under control.

A fortnight after the G14 group of Europe's top clubs agreed to limit their wage bills to 70 per cent of turnover, Nationwide League chairman followed suit.

All sensible stuff but Wanderers have not needed to attend highly-publicised summits to work that one out. Instead they have imposed their own controls, well below that 70 per cent mark, as Allan Duckworth, chief executive of Burnden Leisure, reveals in his review of last season's operations.

"Management of our operating costs remains a high priority," he says, looking back on Wanderers' first season back in the top flight. "Whilst it has been necessary to invest further in the football squad and backroom staff, this was carefully planned and managed within agreed budgets and with the over-riding objectives to minimise any forward downside risk ('relegation' in layman's terms).

"Consequently, whilst football wages increased by 71 per cent year-on-year the total was still kept at a level that represented a reasonable 55 per cent of football club turnover."

That did not prevent Allardyce recruiting the likes of Youri Djorkaeff and Fredi Bobic - to continental players of proven international quality whose contributions were regarded by many as having been the difference between success and failure in the survival stakes.

But loans and short-term contracts minimised the risks. Djorkaeff's return plus the addition of Jay Jay Okocha on a free transfer from Paris St Germain confirmed what chairman Phil Gartside had warned fans to expect this season - much of the same.

Understandably, with Wanderers facing an even tougher struggle this time, supporters are getting edgy and looking to the transfer market for salvation. They see other clubs spending big sums on fees while knowing that, despite Allardyce having been desperate for a striker and now coping with a manpower shortage in defence, the best they can expect when the transfer window opens in January is another loan deal or two.

It might not be to the liking of the Reebok regulars but it has set a trend others are desperate to follow.

Birmingham boss Sullivan confirmed: "We are looking at one, maybe even two continental stars, who we will bring in on four to five-month deals.

"They are good players. If the deals come off they will cost a great deal in wages, and it will cost us more to arrange the loans.

"If they keep us up then there is the chance for them to sign longer deals at the club. To me, that is a great way to sign players. It keeps them hungry."

He added: "We do have to be careful in the transfer market but we are all hungry to achieve. The manager is well aware what money there is for players.

"But if the manager comes to us with a particularly exciting player then money will be made available. We do have policies - but we always try to remain flexible."

That is not necessarily what Blues' fans want to hear and it is certainly not making life any easier for their manager.

Allardyce and Bruce are big pals but they might not be for long, judging by their recent conversations. "Steve's been cursing me," the Wanderers' boss jokes, "because he knows he's not going to get any money to spend!"