Payroll covers all the people employed by the club, from the players, through the board members, through to the match day tea-lady.

There are two areas to watch. The obvious one is that that the wages just don't get too high. The graph shows that the wages fell steadily from 2001 to 2004/5 before creeping up in 2006 then leaping in 2007. The 2008 and 2009 results really are starting to get out of hand. The directors note in the accounts that they agree with this and have reduced the wage bill for the 2009-2010 season. The obvious comparison would be Falkirk. Their wages for 2008 were £2.6m.

The second area to keep an eye on is the ratio of the wages to the income. Deloittes who do some in-depth analysis of football finances reckon the target for this ratio should be 50%. This allows the club to cope with the costs of running the business, buying the occasional player, running a youth development system, putting on games, maintaining the ground etc. In the Aberdeen accounts for 2006 a comment is made that the target 'industry recommended' target is 60%.

Which ever target is used St Mirren had been slightly over it in 2008, before rising again to 77% in 2009.   There are two ways to improve the ratio, by either cutting wages or by increasing income. The 2009 figures is the only item in the accounts which may be of concern. The overall wage bill has gone up by over 56%, in two years and the amount of income being spent on wages is now at that  unsustainable 77%.  The key thing is whether the players have performance related pay.

Both Hibs and Aberdeen make a big play on the fact that they need to develop young players, and that this is in their view is the only way to sustain the club in the long run.