Future Is Safe Even If Relegated - Club

By: Bill Osborne
Date: 14/04/2003

GRIMSBY'S Chief Executive Officer, Ian Fleming, said today that even if Grimsby Town are relegated the club's financial future is secure.

The Mariners are struggling at the bottom of the first division with only four games left to drag themselves out of trouble. Slight though that chance is, player manager Paul Groves is not giving up and says his team will fight to the bitter end.

But Ian Fleming says that the plans mean that Town will survive and move forward in the future.

"We have planned for the possibility of relegation and are prepared to lose a certain level of income we would get if we remain in Division One."

"It's going to be tough but we are certainly not going to fold if we go into the Second Division. The attendances we get at Blundell Park are effectively on a par with Division Two sides anyway and even if we get relegated, Grimsby Town will continue to look forward."

During the current season a salary cap was placed on players and staff and only a small budget was allocated to Paul Groves for the acquisition of players and loans.

It is probably this move that has saved the club from even more severe financial problems if the club is relegated.

The fate of the club now lies in the results of the last four games and there has never been a more important time for the fans to turn out and support the team. Former Town manager Alan Buckley once said that having a supportive crowd urging the players on was like having an additional player on the field.

There can be no doubt that the Mariners need that 'extra player' until the end of the season.

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