Blackburn Rovers will be facing a £25million black hole if they are relegated from the Premier League at Molineux on Sunday – with a long term absence bringing far more serious implications.

A leading football finance expert has warned of the financial risks attached to the ‘dreaded drop’ and admits the club’s immediate future would depend a lot on their owner’s attitude to life in the Championship.

Tom Cannon, a professor from Liverpool University, insists Rovers would be better off than most should the worst happen this weekend, but only if Venky’s are prepared to invest to seal an immediate return to the top flight.

He warns relegation would result in significant losses to their income and admits the immediate drop in TV money and prize money would only be the tip of the iceberg.

He also warns of: * Reduced income from merchandise and sponsorship.

* A drop in gate receipts.

* A blow to the town’s economy.

* The players would feel a hit in their pockets with their wages slashed.

Rovers travel to the Midlands for their survival showdown on Sunday full of confidence they will return up the M6 with their Premier League status still intact.

They know victory over their relegation rivals would guarantee their safety, while a draw would leave Birmingham, Blackpool and Wigan all needing to win daunting away games.

Even a defeat for Rovers, who have only lost twice in their last eight games, would leave two more of the relegation contenders needing to win to condemn Steve Kean’s men.

But, with relegation still a danger, Cannon has told the Lancashire Telegraph exactly what the drop into the Championship would mean for Rovers.

Cannon said: “People say the game is worth £40m, some have even said £90m but those figures are all a slight exaggeration if you look at what relegation would cost you. Don’t get me wrong, it would be costly.

“If you finish bottom of the Premier League you would get around £37m in TV rights and then on top of that you get your extra money from merchandise, sponsorship and gate receipts etc. There is also the money for each place you finish, about £800,000. If you finished in the top six in the Championship you are probably looking at about £4m TV money.

“You do have the parachute payments for four years though and that averages out to about £12m a season, £16m in the first season. So straight away there is a £17m difference between the two leagues and that is if you finish rock bottom of the Premier League. Finish in the top 10 and you are looking at another £8m on top of that.”

When Rovers were last relegated from the Premier League in 1999, their season ticket sales fell by approximately by 4,000 and, with average attendances at Ewood this season more than 25,000, relegation would be expected to drastically hit their gate receipts.

“The rest of the difference depends on two or three factors,” said Cannon. “You have to look at who else is in the Championship.

“Next season you only really have Leeds United as a big player and a team that carries a major away support. Of course there are other well supported sides but the league is not full of them.

“That will bring a hit on gate receipts as will the fact you will get less fans in the home end. Season ticket sales will fall and you are relying massively on winning games. Even if you do, your gate income is bound to fall.

“Then you have factors like merchandise and sponsorship. The Premier League is the pull and teams will feel a hit in these areas as well. So let’s say in the first year you will feel a hit of around £25m.

“Then you have to look into the impact on Blackburn’s economy as a whole. Obviously there will be a detrimental effect because there will be £25m less going into the economy.”

Rovers’ last set of accounts showed the club’s wage bill was 81 per cent of their total revenue and, with a massive reduction in incoming money they would have to cut their cloth accordingly.

The majority of Rovers players are expected to face wage cuts of up to 50 per cent should they be relegated on Sunday, although it is unknown whether such clauses were written into the contracts of the players given new deals under Venky’s control.

Cannon said: “Most players will have clauses in their contracts that allows them to leave if they are relegated or that see their wage automatically cut by a large percentage.

“What we don’t know is what the attitude of the owners would be if the club was to go down.

"Will they invest to get the club back up or will Championship football put them off?

“At first glance, Blackburn Rovers would seem in a good position to go straight back up.

"It is probably harder for West Ham because it is difficult to see anything but a mass exodus in their case.

“Obviously though the longer you stay in the Championship the bigger the problem becomes.

"At first you can recover and there is even the argument that a good run in the Championship can even have a galvanising effect on the club.

“If you look at it more long term then once the parachute payments have stopped it becomes very difficult to ever get back.

"Look at Sheffield Wednesday and there are countless other teams in a similar position.”