• Kevin Blackwell speaks out about wages in League One • Says players would earn more by 'signing on the dole'

Kevin Blackwell claims around half a dozen of his Bury squad are earning less than the minimum wage.

The club are under a transfer embargo for the second time this season after being forced to apply for a loan from the Professional Footballers' Association to pay wages.

And ahead of Saturday's match against their fellow League One relegation candidates Portsmouth, Blackwell revealed that the financial situation at Gigg Lane means some of those figures amount to very little indeed. "This is what people have got to get their heads around – I'm asking players to commit themselves to Bury football club, into tackles and whatever, and if they get injured they've got nowhere to go," he said.

"I had one or two letters from people saying: 'These players get well paid.' Let me tell you, there was a lot of players here getting paid nothing and then some are paid £100 and £200 a week. You get more than that on the dole. They've shown their pride – they're not going to sign on the dole, they want to give it a go. They want to get their careers back on line.

"There's six or seven players who'll go to Portsmouth at the weekend earning less than the minimum wage and yet they're giving everything they've got for the club."