Rovers' finances will receive a much welcome boost next week with the return of supporters to Ewood Park.

That comes after the club published its accounts earlier this month, showing losses of close to £22m for the year to June 2020, that date inclusive of just one behind closed doors fixture.

As a result, that wasn’t included in the average attendance figure for 2019/20 which stood at 13,836. That was a drop-off from 14,508 in the previous season, however, Rovers did miss out on games against Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion, both of who would, in normal circumstances, travel in good numbers.

Ewood will open its gates to supporters for the first time in 17 months next Wednesday, when Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds arrive in East Lancashire, and interest has been high for the game.

The visitors have already sold out their 4,500 initial allocation, with the likelihood of more being put on sale to fill demand, which could see the visitors occupy the Riverside Stand, as well as the Darwen End.

Prices were confirmed at £15 for adults, £10 for concessions and £5 for juniors earlier this week, the first physical ticket money Rovers will have taken since February 2020.

Inbetween came sales for online iFollow passes, but the form of the side in the second half of the season, as well as the access to illegal streaming and some matches being shown on Sky Sports saw sales drop below 1,000 for some matches.

Attendances came into focus this week with publication of the club’s season ticket figures, with news the club have just passed the 3,000 mark.

That is 500 more than last season, however, those 2,500 who bought amid the coronavirus uncertainty last summer were able to take advantage of a pro-rata discount to snap up season tickets below the £399 starting price.

Attendances have been falling at Rovers, an average of 12,688 in the relegation campaign of 2016/17 was actually beaten by the League One promotion season, averaging 12,832, with 14,129 in 2015/16.

Tempting supporters back is no easy task, as Rovers are finding, and a poor end to the season, coupled with a lack of new signings, has made it an even tougher sell, with the matchday prices coming in for criticism from fans.

Ticketing equates to around 25 per cent of Rovers’ income, so is vital to the club, turnover down to just £13.5m for the 2019/20 season, matchday income down to £2.6m from £3.7m 12 months earlier.

Media income, from television revenue, remains the biggest earner for Rovers, but that also took a dip, down £600,000 from the previous year £6.8m.

With the latest accounts figures not including the coronavirus testing costs, not least all 25 Ewood fixture having to be played behind closed doors, a starker picture seems to await when the 2020/21 figures are released in May.

Rovers have now lost over £50m in the last three seasons, well in excess of the £35m allowed under profit and sustainability, however, there has been a slight relaxation of that. Clubs are able to outline the impact of coronavirus on those losses, such as loss of match revenue, while money spent on infrastructure and the Academy also not counting towards the overall figure.

But with losses only expected to go one way, the club continue to teeter on the brink of breaking spending rules, though Rovers’ situation is complicated by their season in League One, with clubs outside the Championship working under a different model, Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP).

Success on the pitch will remain the biggest driver of income, player sales the most productive way of bringing in income, which is why contracts play such a key role in protecting those assets to get the best possible value when a member of the squad moves on.

Since Tony Mowbray took charge, David Raya is the only player to have been sold for a seven-figure fee.

Cash that has come into Rovers within the last year includes £600,000 from the furlough scheme, the club having placed some of their non-essential staff on the Government initiative when it was introduced, though owners Venky’s did continue to ‘top up’ the wages to ensure they continued to be paid 100 per cent of their salaries.

The club also changed sponsor in 2020, bringing Recoverite Compression on board following the departure of 10Bet, as well as signing up Macron as their new kit manufacturer on a five-year deal, a deal Rovers said would bring ‘significant financial benefit’.

Also included in the accounts is an insurance claim the club have placed, having taken out a business interruption policy, ‘to cover loss of profits as a consequence of infectious disease’.

Rovers say the claim was acknowledged and were expected to receive a settlement, though no indication of the value of that had been given, which is why it wasn’t included in the latest accounts.

That is expected to be a six-figure sum, but a lack of sufficient evidence to support the value of the claim meant any funds received will be shown in the year end accounts of 2021.