WE ARE not revealing any secrets when we tell you that a major item at every meeting of The Football League Board of Directors is to consider the financial position at a number of League clubs.

Little wonder they have to do this. Since the collapse of ITV Digital, no fewer than 46 Football League clubs have had to go into administration.

You only have to read the daily newspapers to make yourself aware of the financial peril faced by many clubs. Millwall have recently announced a £5.3million loss, Southend United have to settle a £2million bill with HM Revenue and Customs, who are also owed £300,000 from Accrington Stanley, Stockport County are still in administration and it is just a matter of time before the next club, whoever that may be, hits the proverbial financial rocks.

There are plenty of other financial horror stories in football as well as those listed above, so it was with some sense of pride that we were able to announce a £25,000 profit to shareholders at the club's AGM on Monday.

And the good news does not stop there. During the same period, we were also able to reduce the club's overall debt by £85,000.

You would need to be financially illiterate not to recognise the achievement of the club, at a time of national recession, to be able to announce a trading profit for the fourth successive year.

Walsall FC is a large employer in the town, with around 100 full-time and 200 part-time staff. With speculation currently rife within the media that many more League clubs are facing financial meltdown this can have an adverse effect on those businesses that are run well. Staff become worried about their job security, supporters start to hesitate before purchasing season-tickets and businesses become reluctant to give commercial support.

The truth is that Walsall FC is a well-managed club, cited as a role-model within the football industry, of how clubs should manage their affairs.

Of course our turnover reduced in 2008/09. We were experiencing the worst recession since the 1930s, so income was bound to fall. The point is that Walsall FC has structured its business to deal with economic downturns.

We have diversified and developed a number of income streams not dependent on football-related income. If we had not done this we would be out of business.

The Conference and Events operation has been hit, but remains profitable, and makes a significant contribution to the club. Attendances at our cabaret shows and sporting dinners have taken a hit, but are still well supported and remain profitable. Crowds still flock to the Bescot Sunday Market; they may have cut back on spending, but it remains a hugely popular event. The new giant M6 illuminated advertising board was launched in the worst possible financial climate, but it is such a prominent landmark alongside the M6 motorway that it is attracting 'blue chip' patronage and is making money, even at a time of recession.

There are those who say that our financial results have only remained positive due to transfer fees received. Please give the club some credit. One of our core activities is to develop promising young players through the club's youth development programme and launch them into a career in professional football.

To a certain extent, we can be compared to a manufacturing industry whereby we obtain raw material, add value to it and sell on for a profit. That is what we are about, and every club of our size has to do the same. It is no use accusing the club of a lack of ambition when our players move to bigger clubs. You have to face up to reality. Players have a short career; they want to maximise their earnings so that when they have the chance to move to a club at a higher level, they can double or treble their wages, and the club can obtain a good market value for their transfer.

Don't forget also that it is the income we receive from these transfers and commercial revenue that has enabled us to improve the facilities at the stadium, to develop the floodlit Field Turf training pitch and, most of all, to invest in our state-of-the-art training ground in Broad Lane.

In short, we are developing the infrastructure of the club to make it into a stronger business that can face the future with confidence. Let us make clear once again, we will not put the future of the club at risk by spending money we do not have. That is the way to financial ruin and oblivion.

Each administration has the responsibility to try to take the club forward, and to protect and prepare it for future generations of supporters to enjoy. Our mission is to ensure that League football survives in Walsall and that is what we intend to achieve.