FANS BACK BID TO RESCUE SEASIDERS
CONCERNED boss Graeme Lee says Marske United will not finish the season unless they are able to raise £120,000 over the next fortnight.
After the resignation of former chairman Mark Harkin, the Seasiders saw a move to become a limited company effectively blocked by the Northern Premier League, who also postponed their last two fixtures as the situation was assessed.
A fundraising page has been set up in an attempt to secure the funds required and total currently stands at just under £16,000 – a figure aided by a bucket collection at Middlesbrough’s midweek Championship fixture against Hull City.
The first steps have been taken but there is still a long road to recovery lying ahead of the Seasiders are their supporters and the local community fight for the future of their club.
“It’s not being dramatic, it’s where we are, we don’t have the funds to finish the season off at this point in time,” Lee told The NLP. “In the last four or five weeks, we’ve had plans in place, we thought being a limited company was the best way forward to get to the end of the season and re-evaluate everything in the summer.
“There’s a process to do that and it would take six to eight weeks – but the league would have to suspend us during that process and we couldn’t play games during that time. There wouldn’t be funds, no gate receipts and a backlog of games when we got back.
“So we are back where we were, there’s no funds within the club and we are trying our best to keep going. We have a budget for the team, probably one of the lowest ones in the league – but this £120,000 is to pay creditors, to get the club functioning day-to-day, to pay for travel in the league.
Distraction
“There are so many costs involved in running a club and there are also creditors from last season that need sorting. It’s not just the players wage, there’s a lot more hidden costs that have come up in the last few weeks and that’s made the club realise we need help.”
Lee and his squad finally made a return to action with a visit to Ilkeston Town yesterday and the former Hartlepool United and Sheffield Wednesday defender insists his players will ‘give it their all’ in midst of the off-field crisis.
“The lads are just happy to get back on the pitch,” he added. “As a manager, all I want to do is manage the team and get them prepared for games.
“It’s a distraction when you do that and we’ve prepared for Saturday as normal. I’ve said to the players what would make this situation worse is not going into the game with the right desire and attitude to get the result. We’ll go and give our all, just as we always do.”