91Èȱ¬

Championship promotion hopefuls Burnley returned a profit of £30.1m, a club record, during their 2014-15 stint in the Premier League.

The Clarets, who were relegated at the end of the season, had posted a £7.6m pre-tax loss the previous campaign.

These figures do not include compensation from Liverpool for striker Danny Ings, who left last summer.

Chairman Mike Garlick said the income allowed the club to clear debts and fund new developments.

"Decisions were taken early in the season to clear all the club's external and internal debts, as people will remember that last time we were promoted we did have around £10m of debt, both in terms of external creditors and directors,"

"They have been paid off, as have the Turf Moor Bond holders and, of course, the ground buy-back.

"We also committed to stadium improvements, such as the offices and new Clarets Store, as well as redeveloping our training ground at a cost of around £10m, in order to bring us in line with other clubs in both the Championship and Premier League and help to attract the best possible playing talent to the club, whatever their age group.

"If you add all that up, the combined cost of eliminating all debt, plus the new developments is approximately £20m."

Burnley are currently top of the Championship, four points clear of second-placed Brighton, who they face on Saturday.