FOR the first time during the reign of the Allam family, a look at Hull City's latest annual accounts did not call for a sharp drink. The 2013-14 books, in fact, even made for pleasant reading when published this week.
From a total turnover of £84.48m, City were able to declare a pre-tax profit of £9.4m for a season that saw them return to the Premier League and reach the FA Cup final.
A devil in the detail reduced that yield to £3.3m when accounting for the full year, rather than just the 11 months covered, but following on from a season that recorded losses of £25.6m there was significant cause for celebration.
Ehab Allam, though, was in no mood for backslapping at the KC Stadium yesterday. The club's vice chairman took heart from the latest figures but there was more talk of planning for a future than toasting a past.
"If you look at our income beyond the Premier League money, I still don't think we're too clever," said Allam.
"We need more income, a differential to the bottom clubs. At the moment we don't have that.
"It might be £68m (in television revenue) we're getting but if every club gets that how do you become more competitive? Everything is relative.
"The other income we get, commercial activity, gate receipts, is probably less than most clubs in the division.
"The key is where our income is compared to our competitors. We can't be complacent because as we stand a lot of our rivals have an advantage over us."
Allam's answer to this conundrum is as well-known as it is controversial. The proposed name change to Hull Tigers, something he believes would change the commercial landscape around the club, is purposely avoided on this occasion. The Football Association's decision to reject the club's application in April has now been appealed, with a verdict due through arbitration next month.
"Everyone knows our stance," he said. "We just need to let it run its natural course now. I don't think it will be that much longer before we all know."
That verdict promises to have huge implications on the future of the club and, if true to their word, could spell the end for the Allam family's tenure.
No-one at the club appeared willing to contemplate that eventuality yesterday and least of all the vice chairman. Ahead of a trip to Arsenal tomorrow, Allam was talking only of long-term strategies.
Although City turned over upwards of £84m last season, 80 per cent of that figure came from central funding. In figures published by the Premier League at the end of last season, only West Brom and the relegated trio of Cardiff, Norwich and Fulham netted less in TV revenue.
Allam is unhappy with that reality, craving further financial growth of their own, but stressed there are no gambles being taken.
"I wouldn't say we're too dependent on that money. I don't think any club in the Premier League would be able to survive without the core funding," he said.
"You start every season knowing roughly what your income will be and you cut your cloth accordingly.
"If you overspend and don't put relegation clauses into contracts then you're going to have a big problem if you go down. We have good provisions in place.
"We don't have any external borrowings and we don't leverage against future income. It is a stable club now and these accounts are strong."
But with that there is further talk of guarding against complacency.
"Financially, the books are balancing but we're still at risk of fall out from the Premier League," he added.
"At the moment the club is not an established Premier League club and that's a risk to us. We're financially strong as long as you make the assumption we stay in the Premier League.
"You're only going to have strength at this club if you can become sustainable in the Premier League and not at risk of relegation. Or minimal risk.
"Yes, last year was a fantastic season but we finished 16th. Ideally we'd want to be looking at least a mid-table finish to consolidate our position this year and build on that in the future. With our financial strategy we're capable of becoming sustainable but we're not there yet."
City's debts also remain pretty much intact. Although the club's accounts showed a reduction from £72.2m to £64.8m, the £6.1m cost of running the club through the missing month of July effectively makes the fall in money owed to Allamhouse Limited nominal.
So what is expected to come of this season? The latest accounts outlined that £47m had been committed to sign new players, an outlay that will guarantee the club's wage bill will rocket. Can City turn a profit again in 2014-15?
"That's a tough question because there are so many performance-based bonuses in this league," said Allam.
"We are planning on a break-even strategy with any performance payments being a bonus.
"It's very difficult to predict where you're going to finish and plan for that. There's cup runs to take into account as well. That was £4m additional revenue last season in the FA Cup.
"I believe you'll see a similar base line result next year but any improvements will be dependent on getting up the league table.
"We're not going to spend the money before we've got it. We're being sensible. If we do get performance payments it will be reinvested into squad strengthening, as we always have done.
"Whatever we've made has been put back into the squad. As you can see, we're not here to make money for ourselves."
