BBC Sport have reported that chief executive Alan Hardy (pictured) has warned that Athletic will have to tighten their belt next season and also suggests that several players should be prepared to take pay cuts next season. It's no secret that revenue has dropped due to the dreadful season experienced under manager Dave Penney, whom the supporters have labelled as 'not too popular.' The culmination of poor performances came when the Latics home league attendance dropped to a 25 year low of 2,833 earlier in the season.
Mr. Hardy told told BBC Radio Manchester, "It's a really bad season financially for us. We're going to lose a considerable amount of money because gates have fallen quite dramatically. Some players might not be able to earn as much with us next season as they did this time. Obviously the football we have been playing, we've got to admit, has not been that attractive. That coupled with the recession has hit us badly. In the next week or two we've got to sit down with the manager and look at the budgets for next season. We've got to look at the players who are coming out of their contract. We've got to take a good, hard look at the finances because it has hit us really hard this season."
The club are hoping that the new season tickets initiative of a price freeze will help generate enough income during the closed season. Extra discounts will also be offered to existing season ticket holders.