John Gregg has taken a pay cut along with his players at Drumahoe

Institute may have to sell players to ease financial difficulties at the Carling Premiership club.

Staff and players have already taken a pay cut but boss John Gregg now faces losing some his top players.

"I'd like to keep all my players but I have to find money here and there," said Gregg.

"It's all to do with the current financial climate everywhere - it's a sign of the times. We've moved to cut our playing budget and outgoings."

He added: "The club spent a lot of money getting into the Invitational League (Carling Premiership) and now we've had to streamline.

"We want to stay in the Irish League but with not as much sponsorship coming in we've had to cut our costs.

"We've by far the smallest budget in the league so if we do stay up it will be my biggest achievement at the club."

Institute chairman Trevor Hewitt is adamant the club will not follow neighbours Derry City and be forced into administration.

"The committee will not let that happen, even if we have to go into our own pockets, which we've done before and have done in recent times," he said.

"The playing budget is a not the only area we are cutting. There are cuts all over, including water, electric and heating.

"We an average of 300-500 supporters at the Riverside each Saturday. We're not getting that despite providing a base for Irish League football in the north west."

"Institute FC will never go to the wall - this is a precautionary measure."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version