NEWCASTLE officials have made trimming the club's burgeoning wage bill their number one objective for the "medium term".

And with income from the Premier League's new television deal set to rocket next season, chief operating officer Russell Cushing has warned shareholders that the Magpies need to be competing in the "upper regions" of the Premiership if they are not to miss out on the riches available.

Newcastle published their latest set of accounts yesterday, incorporating the 11 months to June 30, and confirmed an operating loss of more than £6m.

Revenue fell by almost £4m, while the club's massive investment in England striker Michael Owen and Spain international Albert Luque also contributed to a £6.2m loss.

To make matters worse, the club's accounts also revealed that Newcastle's 11-month wage bill of £52.2m now accounts for 63 per cent of the club's turnover.

Most financial experts regard a figure of 50 per cent as the benchmark for a stable level of expenditure, and Cushing was forced to admit that Newcastle's current outlay is far too high.

The finance chief expressed a desire to start bringing the club's wage bill down, and hinted that he would expect to see a significant reduction within the next two or three seasons.

"The increase of £2m relates mainly to changes in the playing squad," wrote Cushing in a statement to shareholders. "The wages to turnover ratio, at 63 per cent (2005: 58 per cent), remains higher than the Group's desired ration of 50 per cent, and reducing this remains our aim for the medium-term."

Cushing's comments will hardly go down well with the club's fans given a lack of depth in the current Magpies squad.

The departure of the likes of Alan Shearer, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Lee Bowyer this summer will have had some impact on the wage bill, but Glenn Roeder will hardly relish the prospect of further cut-backs at the end of the current campaign.

The need to balance a sustainable wage bill with a competitive playing squad is underlined by Cushing's comments on the Premier League's new television deal.

With Sky and Setanta sharing coverage next season, clubs regularly on television stand to benefit significantly from the new arrangement. However, the spread of live matches is unlikely to be as equitable and Newcastle will need to be an attractive proposition to broadcasters to maximise their income potential.

"The FA Premier League recently announced new broadcasting agreements, commencing in the 2007-08 season, in which overall income levels will be significantly higher than the current contract," added Cushing.

"To fully benefit from these additional revenues the Club must seek to compete in the upper regions of the FA Premier League.