Eastbourne Borough have reviewed their finances in the wake of the collapse of television channel Setanta.

Borough, who have now lost a £78,000 pay-out due to Setanta's demise, had a four-hour committee meeting this week to discuss how to combat the deficit.

Chairman Len Smith told BBC Sussex: "We're going to charge for using the stand this year which is something most clubs do.

"We've looked at travel costs, catering costs and our playing budget."

Smith says that the lack of televised games at Priory Lane means the club are not as badly affected as some other clubs in the Blue Square Premier.

"We only had one televised game last year," he said. "Some clubs had up to 10 so will be worse hit than us.

"It was money that was under a contract, we expected to get, just like any other income.

"We budgeted just like every other club to receive it so we're finding it hard to recover and I suspect other clubs are."

A statement on the club website read: "Despite the Setanta blow and the timing of it, we are confident of the future and feel sure supporters will understand our need to adopt measures that will protect the stability of the club and its long-term viability."

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