NEWPORT Gwent Dragons must have been tempted to take a leaf out of Mario Ballotelli's book this week and have T-shirts printed asking ‘Why always us?’ The region was singled out as being in the mire because of their £2.4million debt and £272,141 loss for the year ending May 2011.

In fairness, the auditor’s comment that there was “the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern” was a juicy one.

But that fear appears to be based on a reliance on Welsh Rugby Union funding and the backing of their board members – they are certainly not alone on that front.

For the Dragons read virtually the rest of Europe and certainly the rest of Wales; professional rugby rarely makes a profit and nearly everyone is reliant on benefactors.

Only four of England’s top-flight clubs – Leicester, Northampton, Exeter and Gloucester – made a profit in the year ending June 2011 and the Aviva Premiership's combined operating loss was £16.2million.

It could be argued that the Dragons are in a better position than their three Welsh rivals with Cardiff Blues losing £2.3million for the same period, the Scarlets £1.8million and the Ospreys £1.4million.

The news that the Dragons are in debt and made a loss won’t have come as a shock to their supporters as the cause of it is pretty hard to miss – they either sit in it or see it on the other touchline.

The Bisley Stand was a necessity for the region (and therefore Rodney Parade owners Newport RFC) and its development will enable them to, fingers crossed, get into the black in coming seasons.

It is those improved facilities that prompted their desire to groundshare with Newport County and show them off to more potential clients.

The hope is that staff dealing with conferences and weddings are as busy as the groundstaff, who are sweating over three teams using their precious turf.

Nonetheless, challenges lie ahead. Chief executive Chris Brown, who was brought to Rodney Parade to give some much-needed direction, admitted on Monday that they had underperformed in terms of sponsorship, advertising and marketing.

On that front the Amlin Challenge Cup was not the kindest – Gloucester rather than Wasps would have boosted the coffers nicely while Italian minnows Rugby Mogliano are not exactly going to get the turnstiles clicking – but the troubleshooter acknowledged the need to be more proactive.

When talking about the regions in crisis there is an obsession with using the Irish provinces as examples and they do seem to market themselves well.

But their success in terms of attendances is because the money men at three of the four have splashed the cash on top players, a policy in contradiction to the Dragons’.

People like to see winning teams, hence the success at Munster, Leinster and Ulster while Connacht saw an increase in average crowd through their Heineken Cup participation (earned by Leinster’s on-field achievements rather than their own).

But in terms of the playing department, the Dragons run a pretty tight ship.

They live within their means and don't spend what they don’t have – there's no attempt to get Dan Carter on the credit card.

The coaching team are told each season what they have to spend and they adapt accordingly, hence they come in well below the £3.5million salary cap figure agreed by the regions.

There is probably an element of frustration with that.

The coaches would no doubt love to follow Leinster’s lead and lure a Brad Thorn or Rocky Elsom figure or go down the Ulster path and snare someone of the calibre of Ruan Pienaar or John Afoa.

It could be argued that such signings generate interest, improve results and put bums on seats, however, the Dragons have opted to be prudent.

They know that hard graft is needed to get into the black in these challenging economic times but at least Brown and the board of directors seem to have a plan.

If it fails and the losses continue in years to come then it will be time to panic, but not yet.