BURNLEY FC's board considered selling off Turf Moor for £4million as they struggled to come to terms with the loss of TV money, chairman Barry Kilby revealed today.

And the move would still be an option if a buyer came forward and offered Clarets bosses a long-term lease on the ground, he said.

Mr Kilby said the ground was valued by West Sussex development company Grimleys in the summer as the board looked at solutions to the financial crisis which followed the collapse of ITV Digital.

The news today prompted concern from fans, who have been worried about the club's future since the cash problems surfaced.

Mr Kilby added: "We looked at a number of different ways of dealing with the financial crisis following the collapse of ITV Digital but we have absolutely no plans to sell the ground at the moment.

"It is just one of the options that we have looked at, along with the sale of players and taking out loans. It is something that Watford has done recently and it would not be prudent of us as a board if we did not look at every possibility.

"I repeat that it is not on the agenda although if someone did come along and offer to buy the ground for around £4million and give us a 25 year lease, we would have to consider it.

"The absolute truth is that it was one of the exercises in the summer simply to find out some sort of level of its worth, was it a possible way of raising money? You have to look at what it is worth as a flat piece of land and as an investment opportunity.

"So yes, it is something we have looked at but it is not something that we are actively pursuing at this moment. It was just one of many options."

Mr Kilby insisted that it was the duty of the board at Burnley to examine every single possibility when it came to solving the financial problems.

Mr Kilby spoke after rumours that Turf Moor was for sale surfaced at neighbours Preston North End's annual meeting last night.

Owen McLaughlin, the chairman of Enterprise PLC, claimed that he had heard about the publication of a document that proved Turf Moor was on the property market.

He added that he had been told that the proposal being put forward was that Burnley Football Club would sell the ground and then have it leased back to them.

Mr McLaughlin, a life long North End fan and now boss of a company with a £300million turnover, today admitted he regretted using Burnley as an example of the financial crisis gripping football.

"I was at the meeting and there were a lot of negative comments from the Preston fans and I wanted them to see how lucky they are," he explained. "We have had money from the sale of Jon Macken, Sean Gregan and David Moyes and we have no debts.

"I should have used Bradford as an example because I know that Burnley is a well run football club. Like Preston they have got the benefit of a very solid fan base, a good board and both clubs have got good, hardworking, honest managers.

"Burnley is one of those clubs that will be stronger once the problem of the ITV Digital money has shaken down in a couple of years time."

Paul Smith, of the Boundary Clarets, said: "We are in dire straits but then so are most of the clubs in the football league, just look at Barnsley who not long ago were in the Premiership and are now in administration.

"It is a case of doing everything we can to try and bring in revenue and then hopefully things will get better next season."

Bev Todd, of the Rossendale Clarets supporters' group, added: "The club seem to be shooting themselves in the foot at the moment by putting some of the best players up for sale and having ticket prices at such high levels. People are being put off going to matches."

Mrs Todd called for the board at Turf Moor to meet more regularly with supporters' groups to keep them informed of what was happening at the club.

She said: "If we had regular discussions and were told what was happening then perhaps we could come up with some ways of trying to help."