NEIL WARNOCK has called for parachute payments to be scrapped, arguing an overhaul of the current system would make for a more level playing field in the Championship and encourage newly-promoted clubs in the Premier League to adopt a more financially-stable outlook.

Middlesbrough head to West Brom this afternoon, with the Baggies having benefited from a first tranche of parachute payments following their relegation from the top-flight last season.

Relegated clubs receive around £40m in their first year after relegation, £35m in the following season and £15m in their third campaign out of the top-flight, and Warnock does not feel it is a coincidence that two of the clubs benefiting from the highest level of parachute-payment funding (Fulham and West Brom) currently occupy two of the top two three positions in the Championship. The other, Bournemouth, are in their second season of parachute payments.

Last season, Norwich City and Watford were promoted in their first season after being relegated, and with the former currently rooted to the foot of the top-flight, a bunch of clubs is emerging that seem to spend the vast majority of their time yo-yoing between the top two divisions.

Warnock feels their ability to outspend their rivals in the second tier is the key factor in their ability to keep bouncing back after relegation, and argues that the abolition of parachute support would make the Championship a much more competitive division while also discouraging clubs from spending money they cannot afford in the aftermath of promotion.

“I think the payments are something that have to be looked at,” said Warnock, whose own club, Middlesbrough, benefited from considerable financial support in the wake of their relegation from the top-flight in 2017. “I think they skew things.

“I suppose it’s like anything else – if you’re one of those teams that’s getting them, you think it’s a great idea, while the rest of the league thinks it’s an unfair advantage. I do think it’s becoming more pronounced though. You’re starting to get a group of clubs that move between the top two divisions.

“It’s hard to see how it’ll change though. I think it’s got to come from the people at the top of the EFL. I can see that for the clubs that come down, they’ve got so many contracted players on decent wages, that if they haven’t got a safety-net clause where the wages go down, then they need the parachute payments to keep their players. But if they brought a different system in, and scrapped the parachute payments, then maybe it would make teams that got promoted not go so silly.

“Wages wise, they’d have to be a bit more sensible and that would help everybody. I think if you didn’t have parachute payments, it would put more houses in order and it would make it a fairer division. There’s a chance that could come in, but if it was to happen, I think it would probably have to be phased in over two or three years. I can’t see it happening in the next 18 months, if I’m honest.”

Warnock’s immediate priority is to try to get his Boro side back on an even keel after back-to-back defeats to Birmingham and Luton. It was hardly be easy at the Hawthorns, with West Brom having won six and drawn two of their eight home league matches this season. However, the Boro boss has spent most of his career trying to upset the odds.

“I enjoy it when everybody’s saying we haven’t got a chance,” he said. “I think they’re the games you really revel in. Your players have to stand up and be counted, and I’m looking forward to it in that respect."