This is Staffordshire --OWNER Norman Smurthwaite has confirmed he has told football agents that Port Vale are currently unable to pay money owed to them, but has assured supporters the club is not facing a financial crisis.
Smurthwaite estimates he has already put £1m of his own money into the club this year, and expects that to rise to £1.2m by the end of the season.
He says agents will be paid, but he is not prepared to put any more of his own money into the club to do this at the moment.
He says, to his knowledge, no one else has outstanding bills with the club which are more than 90 days old.
Smurthwaite, who is club chairman, has also revealed he is in dispute with Staffordshire Police about the size of their bill for the home game with Wolves on August 31.
As that issue has not been settled, the Vale chairman has revealed he is refusing to pay police bills from two other games after the Wolves match.
He says this is a matter of principle rather then because of any inability to pay.
However, he does say he has had to put more money into the club than he expected because the budget for this season was too ambitious.
Smurthwaite says that was set when his former co-owner Paul Wildes was club chairman.
The club's budget required average attendances of 7,900 – including 5,000 season ticket-holders, plus 1,500 cash paying home fans, 1,000 cash paying away fans and 400 junior home fans who get in for free.
Vale actually sold 4,200 season tickets, and average attendances are 7,163.
This is still on course to be the club's highest average gate for 16 years, but Smurthwaite has revealed gates are £20,000 per game below budget, while season ticket returns are £210,000 below budget.
Smurthwaite also revealed the football club and Vale Park were split into separate companies when he bought the club out of administration last season. He says this was done to protect the club.
So in his email to agents, he told them: "PVFC Ltd has no assets so any attempt to wind up the company will result in no payment made to any of its creditors."
Of the £1m he has personally invested in the club, Smurthwaite says £300,000 has gone into infrastructure such as the new club shop, while £700,000 has gone into running the club.
He says this year's experience will enable him to set a more accurate budget for next season, but he does not expect the first-team squad to be weaker as a result.
Neither Smurthwaite nor Micky Adams have commented on any negotiations, or lack of them, about the manager's contract, which is due to expire at the end of the season.
However, the chairman said: "I want Micky at this club next season. One of the reasons I bought this club was because he was here."
On his own future, Smurthwaite says he is not looking to sell the club. He says he has had a number of offers, none of which were credible.
However, he says he won't 'run away' from the club and instead plans to rebuild it.
He said: "I think in three to four years the club may have got to the level I can take it and then maybe there will be the appetite from someone else.
"But I have never done a distress sale and won't start now." Reported by This is 5 hours ago.