Jim Jeffries will have to manage within a meagre budget again with no more funds to freshen up his squad for the 2009-10 season.

Kilmarnock manager Jim Jeffries must be used to this but it will not be a situation he is happy with. He has been told by chairman Michael Johnston that the transfer budget account is closed and that he cannot bring any more players in this summer. Jefferies has managed to sign former Middlesbrough winger Graeme Owens and completed the protracted transfer of New Zealand defender Steven Old in the close season but that is it. There is s till a net reduction in the squad size as the likes of Willie Gibson, Allan Johnston, David Lilley and Grant Murray all moving on. Johnston insists a decision to cut the squad size was taken before the financial collapse of the Setanta deal and he Jefferies knew he would not be doing much business before the season starts.

Johnston said: "We had finalised our squad before the Setanta problem emerged. We're not planning any changes in the squad as a result of the television deal that has now been agreed with Sky and ESPN. We had decided long before the start of the season we would reduce the squad size to around 24 first-team players. Last season we started with 34 first-team players which everybody agreed was too many. We had to put young players out on loan and other players didn't really get a game all season. It was always planned to bring the squad down and that's what we have done. We're not planning to sell any players and equally we're not planning to bring anyone in."
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