Cheltenham Town are set to receive a £100,000 loan from Cheltenham Borough Council in a bid to ease the club's financial difficulties.

The Robins, currently bottom of League One, narrowly avoided being placed in administration in February.

And they have cut their wage bill by £8,000 by offloading players since.

A final decision on the proposed loan will go to a council vote on 30 March, but council chief executive Andrew North recommends it should be ratified.

In order to help ease the impact of the financial crisis the club made every player in the squad available to offers, with Ashley Vincent and Ian Westlake the latest to leave.

The pair followed striker Lloyd Owusu and midfielder Alex Russell in heading for the exit and manager Martin Allen was also forced to release goalkeeping coach and scout Alan Fettis.

As well as reducing the wage bill, the directors have put £100,000 of their own money into the club and now want to match that amount through a commercial loan.

"We're not looking for a grant or a gift," chairman Paul Baker told BBC Points West.

"We're looking for a commercial loan which is secured and which is repayable. To put it in context, the borough council gives £160,000 every year to the local theatre.

"We get nothing at all from the borough and we're asking for a commercial loan."

And he has support from North who told BBC Points West: "The football club makes a very significant contribution to the economy of the area.

"I think it is one of the ways that Cheltenham's known nationally by having a football team. We believe it contributes significantly to the tourist industry as well."

Despite the looming threat of relegation, Cheltenham, who are 10 points off safety, have seen their results pick up recently with back-to-back wins after three months without a win.

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