THE protestations about the season still being alive for Worcester are utterly understandable when you consider the sheer costs of failure to reach the Premiership.

It is estimated that Worcester will have missed out on a £2,000,000 cash injection through the various arteries of rugby if they finish second in National One this season.

In the wake of Saturday's 18-8 defeat at Rotherham, however, it looks almost certain that Worcester will indeed pull up short in their quest for top-flight rugby and the consequences are already being pondered by the club's hierarchy.

The question for chairman Cecil Duckworth is whether he should reduce the spending budget for next season after this year's expensive gamble cannot now reap as many league points as last. With one year left of guaranteed promotion to the elite, he has to choose whether it is another vast investment or a scaling down of his financial input.

Supporters will obviously hope it is not the latter and certainly head coach John Brain will be desperate to prove he can bring the right players to the club after being involved in only a handful of summer captures.

"I don't think I'll waste his money," he said, after the Rotherham match. "We want to bring in young, hungry players with talent rather than ones with reputations."

It's a good starting point but with only one year left to be absolutely sure of getting to the top, Worcester will again be in a rush next season and the temptation will still be to pick up the bargains from the Premiership rather than invest in their scouting network.

What is certain is that the financial implications of missing out on promotion this year are plain to see. And for chief executive Geoff Cooke it is the harshest of realities.

"We have always thought that the cost of failure to reach the Premiership would be two million pounds," he said.

"A large chunk of that comes from central funding from the RFU and television rights monies. At present we receive £200,000 from the RFU but if we went up, we would expect around £1-1.3 million.

"Existing Premiership clubs get in the region of £1.8m but for promoted clubs, they will get a lesser amount. You also, however, have to take into account increased gate receipts, advertising and corporate finance.

"At present, our home crowds average 2,500 and if we were in the Premiership we would expect to double that and, more often than not, fill the stadium because of the players that are on view.

"The sponsorship money with npower will also increase significantly if we were to win promotion so the implications are there for all to see, the Premiership is the place to be both in playing terms and financially.

"The business side of the club is doing well but we've only been able to do what we have on the playing side because of Cecil's investment.

"It is up to him what he does next but he accepts the financial loss as part of his commitment to the club."

The immediate concern for all involved at Sixways is that the crowds stay on an even keel for the rest of the season. Starting with London Welsh on Saturday, Worcester then have home games with Wakefield, Otley, Bedford and Exeter to come. The inclination for many supporters may now be, with little to play for this season, to keep their money in their wallets until next season's push.

However, a drop in crowds may yet have damaging consequences for even next season warns Cooke.

"We must all work extremely hard on making sure we maintain supporter interest for the remaining home games. We can do that by producing exciting, flowing performances and successful results.

"It has to be said that finishing second is not an unsuccessful season, it's just that we look like finishing short of our primary objective. What I hope is that supporters now get behind the club because it is important for the overall picture."

Worcester's future may not be on the line but, you have to believe, the response of their supporters in the next three months will go a long way to shaping where they finally end up.