DEBUT boy Craig Westcarr's 24th minute goal left Shakers pointless.

Neville in to sort Shakers' cash crisis

SHAKERS' beleagured board of directors have brought in the club's former commercial boss Neville Neville to solve the crippling cashflow problems at Gigg Lane.

Neville, father of Manchester United and England starts Phil and Gary, will run a fine toothcomb over all aspects of the club's finances in the coming weeks in a bid to balance the books.

But the solutions he comes up with will, it is hoped, have little impact on the playing squad with manager Graham Barrow working well below his agreed budget already.

Since coming out of administration two years ago the Gigg Lane outfit have been paying Creditors Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) fees of £10,000 a month, money owed primarily to the Professional Footballers' Association in loans for paying players' wages in the past, and the Inland Revenue.

So far this season, that figure is proving too much for the club who have seen a drop in gate revenue since the start of the campaign.

Neville has already met with PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, himself a former Shakers' player, and his assistant Mick McGuire, and has been pleased with their understanding and help so far.

"We know the problems the club has had over the years about getting people through the gates but at this moment in time the revenue has dropped to a level that is making it impossible to find £10,000 a month," said Neville, whose wife Jill is club secretary.

"The idea is to look at the running of the club as a whole.

"The PFA have been magnificent with us and are allowing us to be more flexible with our contributions to them and the distributions we are going to receive, effectively acting as a bank for us.

"We've now got to ease the problem with the Inland Revenue and I will have a meeting with them in the next week or two."

All the outgoings at Gigg Lane, social club, commercial department, groundstaff, catering etc will come under the spotlight and it is understandably a worrying time for the Gigg Lane staff.

Neville will also speak to representatives from the club's supporters' trust Forever Bury to co-ordinate a programme of joint-fundraising activities.

"At this moment in time there is very little actual debt at the club," added Neville.

"And we can maintain that as long as the cash flow is right.

"In the past there has been a mass exodus of players when a problem like this has occurred.

"But a saleable asset like David Nugent is a key player for the club and ideally we want to keep him.

"From day one Graham (Barrow) has been working on a tight budget and he has done well to put a half decent side together on less than most other clubs in the division."

The financial situation was hardly helped on Boxing Day when Shrewsbury Town found themselves stuck in traffic on the M6 and the Shakers were left kicking their heels on what should have been one of the more lucrative afternoons of the season.

Around 600 fans made the trip up from Shropshire, a figure unlikely to be repeated on a cold Tuesday night over the next few months.

One saving has already been made with striker Graeme Jones being paid off in the last few days.

He is set to join Scottish League Clyde in the New Year.

However, Jones' departure has already impacted on the first team squad in some way as Barrow will not be able to replace the 34-year-old, who only started one game in the first team due to a recurring calf injury.

"It's understandable that Graham will be frustrated at not being able to replace Jones, especially as he is working far below the budget agreed," said Neville.

"But the downside of the situation is poor gates and the £10,000 we have to find monthly."