CHAIRMAN Steve Goode reckons Worcester City have “a fair budget” to support a title bid next season with boss John Snape’s war chest set to remain unchanged.

City entered this season harbouring hopes of a push for the Midland Football League (MFL) Premier Division crown despite trimming costs from 2017-18, a campaign which ended with a loss of more than £70,000.

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Four new directors were drafted in following the resignation of then-chairman Anthony Hampson days before the big kick-off with the Worcester City Supporters’ Trust-led board vowing not to disrupt Snape’s plans.

And while the club anticipates making a small loss this term, a campaign that continues at home to Romulus in the MFL tomorrow (3pm), Goode is confident the feelgood factor over the recently-passed community ownership proposals can help boost the coffers with a view to giving Snape the tools to compete at the sharp end.

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“The budget will most probably stay the same," said Goode.

"John and Ash (Vincent, assistant manager) have worked unbelievably well with what they have and as we stated at the AGM, they have never gone over budget.

“At the moment it is the same, we have no intention of increasing it but if we are in a position to challenge next season then money will be made available, the same as we said this season.

“The idea is to pay what we can afford. We don’t want to go back to the past, spending money willy-nilly. The last thing we would do is run the club to lose money.

“As everyone is aware, we knew we would lose money this season while trying to make the losses as small as possible and any extra that would be made available for a push next season has been catered for.

“If you are playing well and chasing, the gates and revenue tend to go up as well. It all adds up.

“The main thing is that we try to break even, that is very difficult to do but what we are working towards.

“With what is going on off the park, we hope to get a bit more support and increase the sponsorship side. Eventually, the fans will hopefully own the football club and perhaps that will persuade people to give a bit more.

“A lot of people contribute already but it would be nice to boost that and give ourselves the best-possible chance of success.

“Things are looking positive at the moment but we have to press on, finish the season strongly and get a run going so we can really build on and off the pitch for next season."

Asked what would be expected from next season's budget, Goode replied: “The ambition is to win the league, it is pointless being in a league if you’re not out to win it.

“The budget might not be as great as those at other teams but we have a young squad that is given a chance by the management.

“Every team goes out to win it, some teams know before they start that they will not but whether we had set the budget higher or lower I would still expect us to go out to win the league. That’s what everyone wants.

“I think it is a fair budget and it is up to John and Ash to get the best out of the players.

“Some teams pay a lot more than us but we want to win the league by playing football, not by just buying it.

“Other teams go out with the intention of winning it by paying out silly money and that’s okay for them if they can afford that.

“We want to win the league on merit rather than buying it and I think the majority of Worcester fans would agree with that.”