Whitehaven director Gary Charlton has taken to social media to give the board’s take on the current financial concerns at the club.
Charlton, son of West Cumbria rugby league legend Paul Charlton, played for all four Cumbrian pro clubs, has coached two of them and is now football director at Whitehaven.
He said: “The club needs 1,200 through the gate to break even and we mentioned that at the start of the season. So far we are around 800 to 900, so do the maths.
“People will say why spend so much money on the team then. The problem is we only get told how much we will get from RL funding in mid-November after the team has been put together.
“I still don’t know why it is so late but it gives no ime to address this so we are chasing from day one.
“For us to compete in this league and keep our fans happy we need to spend money on players but we probably have the smallest budget in the league, and still can’t afford this because of the small crowds we are getting.
“People will say go out and get sponsorship but we have very good sponsors that donate money to us and are grateful for this but even businesses are struggling in the current economical climate.
“Since Gary Eilbeck stood to one side we do not have a person on the board that sorts out the short-fall, as happens at most RL clubs.
“We understand people are struggling with day to day living and don’t have the cash to spend on going to watch live rugby league but if you want to keep rugby league in Whitehaven you need to try and support it in any way you can.
“The board and its helpers are working so hard to keep the club going so if you can come to a game, buy a lottery ticket, donate to the gofundme page please do if you can.
“I, for one, don’t want to see this great club struggle so if you can, please do.”
Whitehaven lost to bottom side Newcastle yesterday and coach Jonty Gorley announced that three forwards had left the club.
