Carlisle United managing director John Nixon spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey and Paul Newton this evening as he gave his opinion on the financial accounts recently released by the club. Nixon talking about how things are going on and off the pitch financially :
" They are very good figures, and very much linked to a big increase in turnover. There has been lots of things – obviously moving the turnover from just under £2.5 million to over £4 million has been significant, and that was moving up from the Conference to League Two. Behind that there are two or three other things that have helped as well – gates have gone up by about £340,000, winning through to the Football League Trophy grossed us about £350,000 and of course we refurbished and rebuilt the shop and that has brought us in another £400,000.
" They could have been better without the Trust battle and it would have been nicer to have a bigger profit to put back into the club, as it stands though we've got be thankful for where we are, and that battle is now behind us I hope. It's going to be quite difficult to keep up to nearly £4 million turnover, I think one of the key issues of last year was the £350,000 from the Football League Trophy and we are out of that already. We've got to say that that is not there and we've got to have our fingers crossed that the FA Cup brings us a reasonable run but I think we will do well to be between £3.5 and £4 million turnover in this coming year.
" The second shop in The Lanes is performing equally as well at this point in time as the shop down at Brunton Park, the shop at Brunton Park hasn't actually lost any turnover yet so that is very interesting. So we're able to operate two shops and they are both going forward positively, secondly the one in The Lanes is selling the line of clothing that is more in the leisurewear line of clothing for Carlisle United rather than concentrating purely on the strips and tops. The other area that it can do is that we are going to sell tickets in two or three weeks from there as well as our travel vouchers.
" The prospects are looking good, we've spent quite a lot this year on building and on the pitch, and we've done a lot to bring the ground up to the sort of level that we would expect in League One and going forward to the Championship. In terms of the Championship we've already asked the questions of what we need to do, and of course if we went that way we would have to go and put seating in. We have got various areas in Brunton Park though that we are doing small amounts of refurbishment to, keeping it well up to date and providing good facilities. Tomorrow sees the re-entry of the big screen which the sponsors have kindly put together for us, and we hopefully will get some additional revenue from the advertising on that.
" I think the big thing is to try and keep the club in the black and reduce the debt, that debt started off at over £2 million when Fred Story took over and he really secured that debt. He's been instrumental in giving us that sound base so that we can continue to move forward. We've reduced that debt in a way that has allowed us to reduce the debt but at the same time not stop any investment in the ground or in the club. I think you are looking at it really from three points of view, first of all we want to reduce the debt but secondly we want to put some of the money that we have made back into the club in terms of player wages and better players. Thirdly we have put some back into refurbishment of the ground, some of which has gone in capital like the buildings, and others that has gone in revenue like the pitch. We've got to split it three ways and we look at it like a business which is the way that Fred has basically brought in and said that this club is a business. It's a community club but it's also a business and if we do the job correctly then we will preserve it for many, many years to come.
" You can't be specific and say "x" amount is going to go on the playing side, we put into the playing side of the club the amount that the manager feels he needs in order to improve the squad and make sure that this club is moving forward. Neil McDonald has never been in a position, and Paul Simpson was never in a position, where we got into a situation where we had to say to him – sorry that is just outside our field and we can't afford it. We debate every issue and if they feel that they need the player, and that it is the right thing for the club then we will do it. You only need to look at the players that have been brought in like Michael Bridges, Zigor Aranalde etc., and we have invested, and invested properly, in players that the manager has needed.
" It's good news that the club is stable, and I think that what the players get from it is that they are coming to the club and they are surprised with the facilities. They are surprised with the way the club is run, and they are surprised with the way that the club has approached them so that it is good. It does give them a feeling that they are coming to a club that is going forward, however we are still prudent in the way that we do our business. We don't send any messages to any other Chief Executives or players that we are going to be paying silly money or wages. That would be the road to ruination. "