AT least one SPL club could go out of business in 2009.

That is the shocking warning of leading financial expert Charles Barnett of accountants PKF and author of a hard-hitting annual report on SPL finances.

Estimated SPL debt Hearts . . . £25m Rangers . . . £25m Kilmarnock . . . £11.5m Celtic . . . £3.5m Hibernian . . . £1.7m

Years of over-spending have left many clubs saddled with massive debts which are putting their futures in doubt now the credit crunch is biting.

And finance expert Barnett believes Scotland's clubs could be hammered later in the year.

He claimed: "I can see certain clubs going out of business in both the SPL and the SFL soon if they are not well managed. We could see at least one SPL club going in the next year.

"The issues that came out in the SPL three or four years ago saw a lot of clubs gain through enduring pain. Dundee and Motherwell are now on a stronger footing because of that.

"But, to me, there are clubs that look to be in danger.

"I would not write off any club but, given the marketplace and the levels of debt some clubs now have, there is a real chance an SPL club could go in 2009."

And the credit crisis is also hitting clubs from the SFL with Livingston delayed the payment of player wages in recent weeks.

And Barnett rapped: "Smaller provincial clubs will be desperately hoping for a cup tie to generate some form of cash.

"One or two have their houses in order in the lower leagues - but I know others are struggling badly."