Wages delayed on eve of vital clash at Crewe

ATHLETIC’S players were told on the eve of the Crewe game that their wages wouldn’t be paid on time, the Chronicle can reveal.

The squad and other Latics staff are believed to be still be waiting for wage packets for November normally issued on the last Friday of the month. It is thought this is the second consecutive month there has been such a delay.

While the situation is expected to be resolved this week, the fear is that it may have affected the mindset of first-team squad members — some of whom earn as relatively little as £500 a week — ahead of a highly important league fixture.

Athletic lost 1-0 defeat at Gresty Road, with visiting supporters making their feelings known about the level of performance.

The club’s cashflow problem illustrates the hand-to-mouth existence of a money-strapped outfit whose long-awaited North Stand — promised to be ready for the start of the season — still awaits full completion.

David Dunn’s squad, which has followed back-to-back wins over Chesterfield and Mansfield with defeats by Barnsley, Southend and the Railwaymen, shelved plans to travel straight from Gresty Road to a Christmas party in Glasgow. A low-key version in Manchester took its place.

Manager Dunn has been boosted by the news that one of his players has agreed another short-term deal to stay at the club. Winger Mark Yeates, whose contract expired yesterday, has signed another until the end of January.



ATHLETIC have increased their spending on agent fees by 45-per-cent. Figures show between October 1, 2014, and September 30, 2015, the club paid £38,473 to agents, ranking the club the 15th highest-spending outfit in that category in Sky Bet League One.