Minstermen announce �413,000 loss

York City have reported a loss of �413,000 for the financial year ending 30 June 2008.

Nearly half the loss came from loan interest connected with the ownership of their Bootham Crescent ground and their proposed ground move.

Salaries accounted for �850,000, which is just under three-quarters of the club's income.

Finance director Terry Doyle told BBC Radio York: "We were hit by increased playing costs and falling gates."

He added: "We set a break-even budget before the beginning of the season, but, buoyed with the success of the previous season, we put a little bit more into the playing budget.

"We'd been relatively successful in getting to the play-offs, so we took a little bit of a gamble, if you want to put it that way, upped the playing budget, and it didn't work."

On the high proportion of salaries to income Doyle said: "It's a frightening proportion, [but] if you look at most clubs at this level they would have similar proportions."

Doyle warned that this season's accounts might not look much better, despite receiving a sizeable undisclosed fee from Scunthorpe for Martyn Woolford.

"At the moment we're having another poor season on the pitch," he added. "Gates have been poor... so it's another tough year."

One has to believe that, at some stage, something has to go right for us on the pitch

Finance director Terry Doyle

The club are still operating as if they were a Football League club and Doyle said they were very reluctant to change that, despite the losses.

"We're determined to maintain the structure we've got here because the long-term goal is to get back into the Football League, and once you dismantle it, it's much more difficult to put back together again," he said.

"At the moment the club is well-funded, one has to believe that, at some stage, something has to go right for us on the pitch."