STEFAN Rupp has promised to keep financing City even if there is no Oli McBurnie windfall this summer.

The Scotland striker is expected to leave Swansea for the Premier League – and the Bantams stand to pocket a seven-figure sum as part of a sell-on clause understood to be 15 per cent.

That money is likely to go directly to Rupp to pay back some of the amount he has had to splash out to cover the debts from the excesses of the Edin Rahic reign.

Charlton's League One play-off final victory denied City a £150,000 cash boost which they would have received had Sunderland gone up due to a promotion clause in the Charlie Wyke sale to the Black Cats.

But City’s owner has made it clear that he will still be prepared to foot the bill for the club in League Two even if a McBurnie move does not materialise.

Chief executive Julian Rhodes said: “If by the end of this season we haven’t had any windfall money from McBurnie or whatever, Stefan will have nearly had to double his financial outlay on Bradford City from when he started.

“Those are the kind of numbers you are talking about.

“Anybody who wants to say he is not committed, they couldn’t be more wrong.

“He is utterly determined to get the club back to, at the very least, what it was and then kick on from there.

“The McBurnie money will obviously be a benefit for Stefan because it will reduce how much he is putting in.

“But what he is basically saying is that he’s prepared to give us a competitive budget regardless of that.”

Rupp, who threw in an extra £1.2 million last season to cover debts, has given Gary Bowyer a £2.5 million wage budget for League Two.

That does not match the likes of big-spending new boys Salford but Rhodes believes it can be competitive. The main issue will be moving on some of the highest earners to allow more room for manoeuvre.

Rupp flew over to Valley Parade a fortnight ago and Rhodes spelled out the dilemma that City currently face.

He added: “Stefan understands the problems with so much of the budget taken up already.

“A lot of the players signed last summer are on two-year deals.

“Even though some have had reductions, they are still on very good packages for the division.

“We’ve got to be very careful that we’re not down at the wrong end of League Two.

“Unfortunately for Stefan, we’re going to have to set a good budget to hopefully be competitive at the right end at the table.

“That means he is once again having to foot the bill.

“To be honest, that kills me because before we were at the stage where we had no overdraft and traded our way through everything.

“To be at the point now where the owner has to put some more sizeable money in is not great.

“But he’s got faith in people at the club to get on and do what’s necessary. He knows we are in a difficult situation and we’re all trying our best to get out of it.”