Boro will have to contend with the promoted pair who are thinking big

CHAMPIONSHIP NEWCOMERS ARE 'READY TO SPEND' IN THEIR BID TO GO UP AGAIN

- By CRAIG JOHNS

MIDDLESBROUGH will be hoping to rebound from their disappointing campaign and challenge for promotion back to the Premier League next season.

But as well as the usual need to look up at the three sides coming down from the top flight this summer, Boro could also face strong competition from below next term.

That's because both Birmingham City and Wrexham are coming into next season's Championship with lofty aspirations.

Hoping to emulate Ipswich Town by earning back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League - in Wrexham’s case it would be four successive promotions - noises out of both clubs suggest they will spend big.

A thorough review is currently taking place at Boro. In an increasingly difficult landscape that sees Boro and every other club not in receipt of Parachute Payments battling on an uneven playing field, there’s an appreciation that Boro need to get every department working as effectively as possible if they're to bridge the gap.

Clubs coming down from the Premier League are estimated to get around £50m in the first year of Parachute Payments, which ultimately allows them to spend more money. Used right, it results in their squads ultimately being able to carry players of far better quality than their rivals.

For clubs like Boro, they're forced to try to shop in alternative markets to find value for money, with strict profit and sustainability rules limiting how much Boro can spend.

Even with a benevolent owner like Steve Gibson, he is restricted to a maximum input of £20m per year to offset losses in the PSR calculations.