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Chester FC needing £50,000 in short term as extent of financial trouble is revealed

Club could run out of cash as early as next month if things don't change

The Swansway Chester Stadium(Image: Jason Roberts)

Chester FC need to raise £50,000 in the short term to avoid going out of business.

The very real and grim reality of the financial situation at the fan-owned club was revealed at a packed City Fans United (CFU) meeting at the Swansway Chester Stadium on Thursday night.

Finance director Laurence Kirby revealed that the club could run out of money as early as next month if things don't change soon and a cash injection of £50,000 in the short term isn't forthcoming, with the £100,000 reserve that had been in place earlier in the season now considerably eaten into.

Kirby revealed that it costs £85,000-£90,000 to run the club each month and that the budget could be down to £250,000 from this season's £450,000 by next season - if the club survive that long.

Kirby told members: "If we can’t raise £85k-£90k a month then we could be finished in a couple of months. We need to recover the deficit. It has eaten away at reserves. This is the reality."

It was also revealed that the club would be looking to offload those players on lucrative two-year deals, such as Paul Turnbull, Kingsley James and Ross Hannah, and that their names would be circulated in the coming days.

Kirby also announced that the second instalment of the transfer fee for Sam Hughes' move to Leicester City was still yet to arrive and that efforts to bring the date forward for receiving that money were ongoing.

Kirby added that the club would look at the possibility of selling the selling-on clause in Hughes' contract, but only if it was the only option available to keep the club afloat.