Kendal Town are looking to the local community to help them through a particularly sticky time for the club, both on and off the field.
The NPL West strugglers, four points off safety in the battle to avoid the drop, have launched a JustGiving page to raise £10,000.
Kendal has significant debt; have 13 specific areas to put right on the ground before they have a grading inspection on March 31 and don’t want to cut the wages as they try to attract experienced players to the club.
Chairman Michael O’Neill heads the new committee, which has been in place for two months, and has seen members put their own money into the club without being able to plug all the holes.
He said: “We had a finance meeting last week and decided to launch the Just Giving page to try and help on the three key areas of concern.
“The first is clearly the significant debt that has emerged. The worst part of that is about 75 per cent is owed to local people – scaffolders, builders, kit suppliers etc. We want to service that debt and have arranged a monthly four figure payment.
“When we first came in we brought in a 20 per cent wage cut for the players, and of course some have left. We don’t want to make any further cuts because we desperately want to stay in this League and want to give our new manager a chance of bringing in experienced players and keep the squad competitive.
“I believe we have a group of young players – a lot of them 18 and 19 years of age – who can form the base of our team for a few years. We don’t want to lose them, and with the right experience with them can climb out of trouble.
“The third area of concern is the stadium. We have this grading coming up at the end of March with 13 items to work on before then. The clubhouse is too cold, the plumbing is a problem and the dressing rooms need improving.
“As well as that we would like to improve the playing area, not just for our team but for the community clubs who play their finals at Parkside Road. We have a number of local games bei9ng played in April and May.
“The page went live a couple of days ago and we have raised £330 in that time having set a target of £10,000.
“It doesn’t have to be money, either, if there’s a joiner for instance who would be prepared to give us his time to do some jobs around the place then that would be welcomed.
“We do feel that Kendal football club is an asset to the community. We don’t own the ground, but lease it, and any support we can get from local people – in money or time, would be gratefully received.”
Kendal have a quarter final tie tonight in the Westmorland cup when they host holders Appleby at Parkside Road.
The Mintcakes squad has changed so much that only two players are at the club now who played in the last round against Burneside.
