The highly-paid stars will have to dig into their deep pockets before the start of the new season, as owner Mike Ashley gets tough with the finances at St James's Park.

The players have yet to be informed of the decision, and some of them are bound to not be happy, but it is doubtful whether anyone will go public with their complaints.

This is certainly an innovation as far as football clubs are concerned, and will raise an eyebrow or two up and down the country.

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But Ashley will not care about that as he looks to make Newcastle United a more viable proposition.

The multi-millionaire has vowed to cut costs at St James's Park, with the huge wage bill an obvious target, though it seems he is keen to save money in other areas too.

Magpies fans won't care, as long as they see some of the money saved re-invested on the pitch before the start of the new season.

The transfer market is slow at the minute, however, with a lot of players, managers and agents tied up at Euro 2008, and many fans may wait to see if there's any movement before deciding to renew their season ticket – many of which have gone up in price.