THE Clarets should be prepared for a tough battle next season as life in the first division could be hard, according to a man who has just seen his side reach the Premier League.

Birmingham City chairman David Gold believes his side could not have picked a better time to secure a place in the top flight.

Instead of facing a cash crisis after the collapse of ITV Digital, Gold is now looking forward to receiving a potential £30million jackpot.

No wonder owner David Sullivan and the board were cheering after the First Division play-off final victory against Norwich.

Gold said: "We are leaving behind some serious trouble in the lower divisions.

"With the shortfall of the ITV Digital money, most of us had gauged our finances through to August when we were due to receive about £3million. I think the figure we are looking at now from the TV deal, commercial deals and the fact we will have capacity crowds, will be near to £30million.

"The amount is just staggering. If we had lost I would have been facing a £3million shortfall."

Gold sees a difficult road ahead for the clubs, like Burnley, left in limbo in the wake of the TV crisis.

"It is going to cause a lot of First Division sides major problems over the next few months," he said.

"It wouldn't surprise me if a couple of major clubs went into administration because no-one had any idea we were going to have this shortfall.

"We will be picking up a cheque for £10million in a couple of weeks time, I understand. This is the difference promotion makes."

While Stan Ternent is waiting to see what cash he has got to spend, or save, this summer, Birmingham's top brass will meet later this week to allocate further funding to manager Steve Bruce.

He invested £7.5million on new players after arriving in December - and the club got their reward.

Managing director Karren Brady said: "We have arranged a meeting this week at David Sullivan's house to discuss the players we are going to sign. The hard work starts now."

Given the fact that the Blues know they have secured a windfall while the first division sides have missed out, the real hard work will be for the clubs they have left behind.

ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger is determined to sign veteran defender Martin Keown on a new contract this summer, although a compromise deal may have to be reached.

Keown, 35, is out of contract at the end of this season, but while Lee Dixon has announced his retirement and Tony Adams is still considering his future, the current England international wants to carry on.