GLEN Little reckons many Burnley players are fighting for their footballing lives.
The financial strait-jacket the club is wearing has left everyone in the Clarets dressing room feeling the squeeze.
Several first team stars are out of contract this summer, including Dean West, Paul Weller, Alan Moore, Mark McGregor and Little himself.
And the winger knows anyone offered a new contract can consider themselves lucky in the current climate.
Little said: "If you look at the squad from last year, a lot of players have already gone to cut the wage bill.
"If the gaffer hadn't made sacrifices in terms of numbers, we would have been okay in the league, but you have to wonder where we would be financially.
"Ultimately, there are more sacrifices to be made, and you don't want to be getting into pay cuts in the meantime because you feel that, at the end of the day, you have done well for yourself to get that deal in the first place.
"But I think that everyone accepts that once you come to the end of your contract you will have to take a wage cut.
"It's happened already with Graham Branch and Dean West last summer - and everybody is fine with that because football has changed.
"We have to realise we are the lucky ones because we have actually got contracts.
"Others got the heave-ho so that we could cut the cloth accordingly and it will be the same this season.
"We'll get to the summer and then there are quite a few more who know that if we do end up staying at Burnley we won't be on the present salaries because they will be slashed."
Little, who has been with the Clarets for seven eventful years, reckons the pressure on the current squad is now at its greatest as they battle to stave off relegation and the financial meltdown that would undoubtedly cause.
He added: "Fortunately, this is something we've been hearing for quite a while now and something we've learned to live with.
"You keep thinking everything will be all right, but who knows?
"I wouldn't know how close we are (to administration) and I probably wouldn't want to.
"If we were safe you could step back and worry about the financial side, but while the money is still coming in you have to be professional about it and just get on with the job of trying to win matches.
"Things are more difficult because we are in a relegation battle and we have to concentrate on the games.
"That adds extra pressure, knowing that results could ultimately make the crucial difference.
"I never ever felt it would come to this, but we are in January now and we find ourselves just above the relegation zone and we have to keep battling away."
Little feels the supporters could make the greatest difference to lifting the dark cloud hanging around Turf Moor at present.
The Clarets average of around 11,500 is currently below the water mark needed to carry the club forward - causing a reported loss of around £12,000 per match.
And the long-serving wide man urged Burnley fans to get right behind the side over the coming months to bridge that gap and provide the tonic the team need to put the necessary points on the board.
He said: "Most people are disappointed to see that, after getting 16,000 two years ago, we are now down to 11,500.
"We would like to see another three or four thousand supporters through the turnstiles, but it's a Catch 22 situation.
"They are probably thinking 'why should we go when the team is scrapping away?'
"But you have to go through the thick and the thin.
"We have had some good times out of the blue, like the promotion to Division One.
"Maybe when it came, it was unexpected, but the supporters have had some good times and when the bad times come along unexpectedly, you still have to get behind us."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article