King's Lynn Town owner Stephen Cleeve seeks funding to see club through season

King's Lynn reached the second round of the FA Cup last season before losing to Stevenage

King's Lynn Town owner Stephen Cleeve says the club "will be in trouble" unless he can secure investment very quickly.

Cleeve says the Linnets, who are 21st in National League North, need £300,000 to be able to finish the season.

Declining crowd numbers and a failure to raise money from player sales are among the reasons for the situation.

"Next season I believe I have a solution, but we have a hill to get over," Cleeve told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"You look at the attendances, they've halved since last season, and we haven't sold anyone which we normally do - we have a sold a couple of players but nothing to bring significant income in."

He continued: "The season we were in the National League [2021-22], we spent £1.1m on wages. This year it won't be that much but it will still be a significant chunk of money.

"Most clubs at our level are all losing money. I don't know what the solution is. We won't be the first or last."

Cleeve has been to the United States, where the story of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's success owning Wrexham has raised interest in English football, but nothing concrete has materialised.

"I had 33 appointments in seven cities in 12 days, and I met a lot of people with a lot of money," he said.

"The trouble is they are wanting to put money into big clubs. There's different reasons why they just can't do it and there's nothing I can do about that."

Costs have been "trimmed to the bone" and Cleeve believes the club is a good investment opportunity, with an academy that makes money developing young talent.

"I've been speaking to people for some time. I had a couple of things which were almost lined up and they may still come together," he added.

Manager Adam Lakeland welcomed Cleeve's decision to 'go public' about their plight.

"It's good for me that he's put that out because it's tough for all football clubs," said Lakeland, who was appointed in September.

"It's tough to recruit when you inherit a situation when you've got a lot of players, and maybe a lot of young lads who aren't quite ready that are eating into your budget, it's going to put pressure on any football club, any chairman and me as well.

"But I knew what I was coming into - it is what it is."