Accrington hit with winding-up order

The order relates to unpaid tax and national insurance contributions of around £300,000. The League Two club have accepted full liability, and they say the problems are mainly due to difficulties with paying their wage bill due to a dip in revenue, most notably the withdrawal of their principal sponsor.

A club statement said: "Although we do not look to make excuses the arrears have occurred due to a number of factors, most notably because of the club's contractual obligations with regards to players' wages despite the fact that levels of income have dropped significantly."

It continued: "While we have been back in the Football League, our average attendance has dropped from 2,260 in our first season three years ago to 1,415 for the season just gone.

"Despite the falling attendances and general economic downturn our request for dispensation from the Football League to postpone having to install an additional thousand seats was turned down requiring us to carry out over £60,000 of work on the ground, and we also took a significant hit with the collapse of our main sponsor Fraser Eagle midway through last season, with well over £100,000 owing to the club.

"All this said, the club fully accepts the liability, we believe that it is morally right that the money should be paid and are not seeking to avoid paying any part of the debt.

"With the end of the current season we now have the opportunity to restructure the finances of the club, particularly in terms of revising our playing budget, and we are confident that working with our professional advisers we will find a solution to clear the outstanding balance in full.

"Aside from the amount owing to HM Revenue and Customs our other liabilities come to less than a quarter of this figure, certainly not excessive for a company of our size with the majority incurred as general day-to-day operational costs."

Accrington were promoted to the Football League in April 2006 and have resided in the lower reaches of the fourth tier since then.

In March this year, chairman Eric Whalley announced that he was selling his share in the club and stepping down after 14 years at the helm.