Nuneaton Borough FC charges £50 for trials

Players could lose their place if members of the public impress in trials

A football club on the brink of being relegated to the seventh tier of English football has charged people £50 to try out for the team.

Nuneaton Borough is in financial difficulty and has a squad of just 18 players, with one on loan.

The club has won three of 33 games this season and is bottom of the National League North on 16 points.

HMRC issued the club with a winding up order and it is also under a transfer embargo.

Club secretary Adam Etheridge said the embargo meant he could only have 16 players registered at a time so those already on the books could lose their place if members of the public impress in trials.

In February, the club's owner quit after three months in charge, with debts believed to be about £140,000.

"Basically, the club has run out of money," former manager Nicky Eaden told BBC Sport in October.

(L-R) Manager Jimmy Ginnelly and club secretary Adam Etheridge are hoping they can save the club

Forty-three people turned up to the trials on Tuesday, including a man from Belgium, with the £50 fee designed to boost funds.

• Latest news from the West Midlands

"We owe so many people so much money, we need to spread it across our debts," Mr Etheridge said.

The people who impress most in the trials will play against the current 11, who risk being deregistered in favour of someone else.

You may also like:

• My transgender child: 'Don't you think she's happier?'

• Millionaire teacher is 'school sensation'

• Couples who box together, stay together

"One or two of [the prospective players] have impressed. The others were just out of their depth."

Manager Jimmy Ginnelly said: "This town deserves a football club, these fans deserve this football club.

"I'm desperate for it to survive."