FC United have issued an urgent cash appeal - and revealed they need £250,000 by next summer of keep their new stadium on track.

The supporter-owned club was famously founded as a protest to Glazer takeover of United and the crippling debts that the Premier League club incurred as a result.

But FC last week sent a message to all their members regarding their 'worrying' current financial position.

And in an interview with the M.E.N its officials admit that they may now have to use a bank ovedraft to steer them through financial trouble.

The club is on course to make a loss this year and the financial woes could mean that the club’s £6.5m Broadhurst Park stadium may not be completed in time.

Club bosses say they have been hit by unexpected costs for the partially-completed stadium but admit that extra donations from fans have been hit as a result of a bitter dispute over the running of the club earlier this year.

FC United was plagued by bitter in-fighting which eventually saw most of the senior-management, including general manager Andy Walsh, step down and a new board elected.

However, they insist that the club’s future is not in jeopardy and they are “extremely confident” they can get the club back on track.

Watch: FC United vs Benfica in the opening game at Broadhurst Park

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Adrian Seddon, a new board member, said the turmoil was now over but admitted it had hurt the club financially.

He said: “We lost a lot of emphasis, at a critical time as well from a financial point of view. For our first season in a new ground, we should have done a lot better with sponsors and marketing.

“There was obviously the upheaval in the summer where there was a big change in staff and on the board. We’re a year and a half behind where we should be.

“The other problem we’ve got is that for 10 years supporters have given money, given money, given money. The stadium’s built and they arrived for the Benfica game and there’s a fatigue for giving money amongst some.

“Also, with what happened over the summer, there’s supporters who decided they weren’t willing to give money anymore

“But our rallying call to the fans is, we have the plans in place, but it’s down to them. We don’t have a rich benefactor and we need fans and co-owners to get us the next stage.”

Watch: Building work at FC United's Moston stadium

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FC United is run as a Community Benefit Society, meaning any profits are re-invested. The club has more than 3,700 members, who each get a vote on key issues.

New chief executive Damian Chadwick said the current problems were a short-term cash flow problem - and, despite refusing to divulge numbers, said 'it wasn’t a huge amount of money' they needed to raise.

He also insisted they weren’t behind with creditors - who include Manchester City Council.

He said the current shortfall been caused by revenue having to be used capital investment on the stadium and a planned tax refund being delayed.

He said that due to the overspent, they say they need to raise another £250,000 for the stadium by next summer otherwise building work will fall behind.

Damian, an FC founder member from north Manchester, has joined the club from Bolton Wanderers where he was previously venue controller at the Macron Stadium.

He and the board have already put in plans to maximise match-day revenue, generate more money from sponsorship and increase use of the stadium as a venue for a conferences and other events.

He said: “Myself and the board of directors last week put the projections together and started to look at the cash-flow forecast we thought it was time to show this to our co-owners and supporters and get them to understand our financial position.

Watch: A look around FC United's stadium in Moston

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“The supporters have almost had an ‘oh s**t’ moment where they have said 'we have dropped the ball here'. The stadium still needs to grow and we need to continue this.”

However he said the response had been 'absolutely phenomenal' with increased donations to their development fund. The fun pays for improvements to the 4,500 capacity stadium, which is likely to take another decade to fully finish.

“I’m hoping when we calculate the impact of the last few weeks and we won’t have to go down that route” he added. “The club’s not at risk, We have a healthy balance sheet. We’re in talks with the council as well so they’re aware and they know we’re being pro-active.

“It was not a decision we took lightly to put that announcement out. But we’re not behind with creditors it’s literally a case of timing. And we’re being transparent because that’s what we’re all about as a club.”

The club that was born from disillusionment with modern football

FC United of Manchester were formed in 2005 by a group of Manchester United fans disillusioned with many aspects of modern football and the Glazer family’s ownership of the club.

They came up the idea of forming the new club after an infamous meeting in a curry house following a Reds game.

After their formation they began a meteoric rise through the football pyramid, achieving three promotions in their first three seasons.

They were eventually promoted to National League North, two divisions below the football league.

They currently sit 12th in the table under the stewardship of Karl Marginson, who has been the club's manager since their formation.

For most of their existence they shared a ground with Bury at Gigg Lane. However, they spent years working on plans to build their own home and moved into their new £6.5 Broadhurst Park stadium in New Moston in May last year.

It was opened with a showpiece game against Portugese giants Benfica in front of a capacity crowd of 4,400.

(Image: Dave Thompson/Getty)

Membership is open to all, with everyone an equal co-owner, holding one voting share in the club.

Earlier this year a bitter dispute erupted amongst some parts of the club’s fan base and membership over the direction and running of the club.

It included the club having to apologise to a founder members who took legal action after he was linked to alleged threats made to club staff.

Most of the club’s senior management, including general manager Andy Walsh, eventually stepped down over the row. The entire board agreed to stand down with a new board elected at an extraordinary general meeting.