Adam Pearson, the new executive chairman of Hull City, will oversee a significant cull of Phil Brown’s squad as he sets about easing the financial problems at the Barclays Premier League club.

Pearson took up his position in an official capacity yesterday, succeeding Paul Duffen, who resigned as chairman and chief executive last week when it emerged that Hull have debts of £27 million. The club need to find at least £18 million before the end of the season to remain solvent and Pearson knows that he cannot sustain a crippling annual wage bill of £40 million, one of the highest in the top flight.

The January transfer window promises to be a hectic time for Hull, with a significant number of players expected to leave the KC Stadium. These could include George Boateng, Bernard Mendy, Richard Garcia, Peter Halmosi, Caleb Folan, Daniel Cousin and Ibrahima Sonko. Pearson, however, has promised to get the club back on track and is confident of solving the problems that await him.

He said: “We need to get back in shape to make sure the long-term future of the club is secure. It’s nothing that’s not retrievable, but we need to reduce the size of the squad.

“We’re certainly not in a situation where we need to sell players we want to keep. We just want to make sure that the club is being run efficiently and prudently. The position of the club is manageable, but if it had been left much longer, there was a danger of it becoming more serious. At this stage of the season, it’s achievable that we can turn this around.”

Pearson has already opened negotiations with potential backers and is hoping to secure some significant investment before Christmas. “It’s part of my remit to get extra money into the club,” he said. “Every Premier League club is in a position where it is looking for external investment. It’s a big responsibility financially for myself and Russell [Bartlett, the club’s owner] to manage alone and we are looking to ease that burden.

“I’ll be running the club from top to bottom, get it back on track and work strictly within the financial budgets.”

Brown could well be on his way before the transfer window opens after Pearson admitted that the manager is under pressure. “How secure is the manager? That’s a tricky one,” Pearson said. “If we don’t get results then that security goes down.

“Phil knows that. It’s the business we’re in. It has been a difficult year and we need to achieve results quickly. We’ll have to see what happens over the next couple of weeks.

“Phil will be manager on Sunday [for the visit of Stoke City], but there’s no point me saying he’s got a job for life, that’s not the case.We need results quickly and that puts pressure on everyone at the club.”

• Brentford have asked the Premier League to investigate the transfer in August of Michael Turner from Hull to Sunderland. There has been confusion over the fee paid for the 25-year-old and this has affected the sell-on fees that are owed to Brentford and Charlton Athletic, his former clubs.

On borrowed time

• Hull have nine league games before the January transfer window opens.

• Matches at home to Stoke City, West Ham United, Everton and Blackburn Rovers and away to Bolton Wanderers offer the best chance of rewards.

• They also have difficult fixtures away to Manchester City, Aston Villa and Arsenal and at home to Manchester United.