Owner Russell Bartlett is confident of keeping Hull City afloat despite their impeding return to the Championship.

Speculation has been rife that The Tigers may be forced to enter administration should they lose their lucrative place in the top-flight.

Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Sunderland effectively relegated the KC Stadium outfit back to the Championship after two years in the Premier League.

However, Bartlett believes the club can 'trade through' their financial difficulties.

"We face a tough period to trade through the transitional period and readjust the business to life in the Championship, but I am confident we can do that," he told Hull Daily Mail.

"We are presently preparing plans to trade through and within that process is to significantly lower the wage bill and potentially to restructure other liabilities."

Meanwhile, chairman Adam Pearson has admitted that the exit door at the KC Stadium will be busy during the summer months.

"We must move a lot of players out," he said."Our annual wage bill is £39million and we need to get that down to £15million next season.

"We are spending £195,000 a week on strikers and between them they have scored just eight goals this season, which is not good enough.

"We have the same annual wage bill as Sunderland, but they have seven or eight young, saleable assets like Darren Bent, Kenwyne Jones, Fraizer Campbell and Craig Gordon.

"We don't have that. We have players on long contracts, high wages and no transfer value.

"None of the high earners have a clause to reduce their earnings in the event of relegation.

"Their wages are guaranteed for three or four years and there is no incentive for them to renegotiate."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email