McNally - Norwich in safe hands

Manager Paul Lambert guided the club safely into the wealthy Premier League last season and is doing well in his bid to avoid an instant return to the Championship.

The club held onto prize assets like Grant Holt in the January transfer window while shrewdly flexing their new-found financial muscle by adding the services of £2m Leeds captain Johnny Howson and Peterborough centre-back Ryan Bennett for £3m.

And McNally insists the board will continue their cautious approach and never gamble with the club's finances and risk future instability.

He said in the Eastern Daily Press: "It's our job to try and back Paul Lambert and Ian Culverhouse as much as we possibly can, within the parameters of what we have.

"We won't gamble on the club's future - we don't have the right to do that. The football club is owned by the supporters in effect, so we won't gamble with money we don't have.

"Equally with the current economic outlook that we are all having to recognise - we will look back at these as some dark days and austere times - you have to ensure that you live within your means, and that's it.

"I saw somewhere there wasn't much more than £50m spent in January in the total transfer window market - and we made getting on for 10pc of that. So Norwich City spent 10pc of the total January transfer funds - now we've not said that before, I don't think.

"I feel desperately sorry for any club in those difficulties, but I feel ever more sorry for the supporters.

"At Portsmouth it's been problem after problem for years now and you feel desperately for them, who are very passionate for their club. But I feel there will be other financial problems along the way for other clubs."