Exclusive by Sarah Holt

If we are fourth from bottom at the end of the season I'll be absolutely delighted Jim McCahill

Leicester City chairman Jim McCahill believes this season will be a test of survival - both on and off the pitch.

McCahill, who took on the non-executive role in May, is now overseeing a rebuilding process after the club survived administration and earned promotion from Division One.

So far 11 new players have swung through the doors of the Walkers Stadium but only two of them cost a penny in transfer fees.

McCahill revealed the club decided not to take a gamble on big-money transfers such as striker Bobby Zamora, who moved to Tottenham despite being tipped to be reunited with former manager Micky Adams at Leicester.

"Micky had a list of about 20 players he wanted to bring in but he knew that he had to work within a tight budget," McCahill told the BBC Sport website.

"If he wanted Zamora he could have gone and got him but his budget would have suffered. Maybe he would have lost another two players we couldn't afford to have brought in.

"Spending �1.5m on someone like Zamora would have tremendously eaten into our budget to attract more players.

LEICESTER'S NEW BOYS Steve Howey (undisclosed fee) Paul Brooker (free) Keith Gillespie (free) Riccardo Scimeca (free) Danny Coyne (free) Lilian Nalis (free) Les Ferdinand (free) Ben Thatcher (�300,000) Nicolas Priet (free) Craig Hignett (free) John Curtis (free)

"That was not something we could afford to risk and so we had to forego that route.

"We need the balance between quality and quantity and we have chosen to buy experienced Premiership players who hopefully will gel together to form a good team.

"Micky has spent up now but I think there is one more player to come, although again that is only a very nominal fee."

Applying the adage 'out with the old and in with the new' may be easy enough when it comes to team affairs, but it will be a long time before the club recovers from its administration hangover.

Leicester got in to difficulty last October because they could not repay the debt owed to an American firm who had financed the club's new stadium.

McCahill is saddled with the debt from the Walkers stadium

After a Gary Lineker-led consortium raised enough cash to save the club, McCahill was handed the task of ensuring the club stays afloat.

"There is no way we can allow ourselves to go back to where we have been and that has to be our priority," insists McCahill.

"So in our first year we have to be very prudent and make sure we get back on track and stick to our business plan.

"The consortium took on about �35m of debt and we will have to pay that back over several years.

"The longer we stay in the Premiership the shorter that period will be so our aim is of course to stay up and build from there.

"But ultimately the only way the board can look at the club is as a business because even if we are relegated we still have a business in place to give it another go.

"The one thing about Leicester is that we know how to fight, we know how to tackle situations, we are a club full of survivors."