THINGS may not be going Preston's way on the field at the moment, but manager Craig Brown is a thankful man.

For while there may be teams higher up the league than Preston -- 18 to be precise -- fewer are in a better financial shape.

The collapse of ITV Digital is costing the club around £2million a year, and while concerns were expressed at Monday night's AGM by shareholders over a shift in management style at boardroom level, chairman Derek Shaw is confident they can get things right.

At Monday's meeting former chief executive blamed a decision by directors to start taking responsibility for some of his duties as one of the factors in his decision to quit.

But Shaw, now chairman, and new director Steve Jackson, whose company Newreg sponsors the club, have insisted they wanted Scholes to stay, and pledged to keep the club on a good financial footing in the future.

For players, that will mean pay cuts when their contracts expire.

Shaw said: "We are hearing from clubs up and down the country that players realise the party is over, and that will be the same as for North End from now on."

He believes it will take a couple of years to bring Preston's £5million wage bill under control, primarily because many players were locked into long-term deals in a bid to prevent them leaving under a Bosman, a real threat two years ago.

However, Brown is still pleased with Preston's off pitch state.

He said: "I am grateful as manager that we don't have the situation here that other clubs like Coventry have, where players have been asked to take a 12 per cent pay cut.

"We appreciate that position."

One position Brown does not appreciate is his club's place in the league, 19th.

With just two wins under their belt so far this season, three points is nothing if not vital away at Walsall -- in 17th with one more point -- this weekend.