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BE PATIENT - that's the message to Witton fans from acting chairman Mark Harris.

He told the Guardian tonight that an announcement on the club's next manager would not come until early next week.

"I know that's not what supporters want to hear," he said.

"They want to know who the next manager will be and if he's called Jim Vince.

"I understand that but I don't want to make any decisions until the right foundations are in place."

He did commit to saying there was only one candidate for the job at the moment.

On Tuesday - the day Mike Worthington stood down as chairman after a decade at the helm - he said he hoped to have filled the managerial vacancy within 48 hours.

That has not happened but Harris was happy to explain why.

"It's taking us a bit longer to come up with the right financial package, he said.

"Although we had a great season on the pitch this year, the running costs had to be supplemented. Since the end of the campaign it's become clear that money has to be repaid.

"That leaves us with another hole in the finances that must be filled."

The Guardian has learned this week that there was a £4,000 overspend on last year's playing budget as Witton went for top spot in the UniBond Premier Division.

Even that does not come close to matching the sums that rivals Fleetwood Town and Gateshead spent on their teams.

Harris has been in talks with finance director Paul Worthington, the former chairman's son, to come up with ways to make up the shortfall.

They plan to call on supporters' help.

"We have come up with a figure that the club can generate but that still doesn't match last year's budget.

"What we aim to do now is work with leading supporters to see if they can help us once more. Their efforts over the past year have been magnificent, I want to see if we can do the same again.

"I want to be in a position where we can give whoever the manager is the resources that has taken us this far and hopefully even further but we're not there yet."

5:30pm Friday 9th May 2008

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