Daniel Farke admits Norwich City is still ‘paying for the sins of the past’ with promoted rivals spending lavish sums in the transfer market ahead of the Premier League kick-off.

Sheffield United confirmed a club record deal for striker Oli McBurnie on Friday while Aston Villa have splurged in excess of £100m already this summer.

City in contrast made four senior signings, including two loan deals, but Farke knows the long term health of the club is far more important.

“The board and Stuart (Webber) have made it clear. We still have to pay for some sins of the past,” he said. “There was no other option, we had to invest in the training ground and the academy in order to make sure that this club is run in a positive way in a few years and not just one season in the Premier League.

“We are perhaps ahead of our schedule, in terms of this promotion, and in a few years we won’t have to pay for the sins of the past. That might be a problem now but we won’t raise the white flag.

“Last season we broke so many rules and we will aim to do the same.

“We know how tough the task is, we have to be at our best and we need some luck in terms of injuries. But we work hard each and every day to be competitive, even if we are not financially.

“We have to be realistic. The teams already in the Premier League have better opportunities in financial terms than us. They are prepared because they are used to play on this level. Not just the top six but more or less the other clubs.

“Now when you see the money the clubs who were promoted with us can spend to bring in individual quality, look at Villa, they have spent nearly £140m and Sheffield have made some decent transfers.

“You have to say, with our opportunities financially, if you are realistic then we are the favourite to finish in position 20 in the Premier League. We are not naïve. When you are able to spend money to bring in quality you have a bigger guarantee to be successful. But we know our situation and we handle this.”