Macclesfield Town have stressed they are by no means home and dry in their battle to avoid administration.

While the club has been delighted by the response of fans and local businesses since the scale of their financial plight was revealed last month, they remain in a precarious position.

The deal Macc struck with the council staved off the immediate threat and set them on a course to climb out of the red.

Season-ticket sales have already surpassed those for last season, helping the Silkmen raise over half the £50,000

target they set themselves for the end of July.

But Macc are not there yet and must raise another £50,000 by the end of August to avoid insolvency measures.

“Since the season-ticket deal was announced we’ve sold over 600, which is fantastic,” said associate director Andy Scott.

“We’ve beaten last year’s figure and we’ve still got four weeks to go till the start of the season, so we’re hoping we might get to as many as 650 season tickets.

“The fans have done their bit and the support from the general public has been

fantastic but we can’t stop, we’ve got to keep going, because we’ve still got to find this money.

“We now need local businesses to step up to the mark. We’ve so many irons in the fire, we just need them to actually step forward and commit now.

“We’ve got a club that’s well respected across the football world and if we want to keep a team playing in the national league, with the crowds we get, then we’ve got to have some sponsorship.

“It’s a two-way thing. We massively appreciate it if people can sponsor the club in any capacity, whether it’s sponsoring a game or boards around the ground.

“But it’s now a community-run football club too so they’re doing their bit to keep their

community club going, which is really important.”

Macc are set to switch to a ‘Community Interest Company’ (CIC) after the council bought the Moss Rose freehold for £285,000 last month.

Besides buying a season ticket, the best ways to

contribute are through advertising/sponsorship, buying shares and making donations. And even if the club raises more than the £100,000 they need in the short term, the surplus will go towards paying off last season’s creditors rather than helping manager John Askey complete his squad.

Askey has already been given his playing budget for the season, which is less than half that enjoyed by Steve King under the previous owners last term.

Arthur Gnahoua last week became the 11th player to sign on for this season.

Askey and assistant player-manager Efe Sodje must now use their contacts and charisma to lure players to the Moss Rose and then persuade them to accept lesser terms than they may be able to secure elsewhere.

Around 15 trialists joined the Silkmen for the start of pre-season training last week, including former Stockport County

players Paul Turnbull and Danny M Rowe.

“There’s plenty of professional footballers out there who haven’t been offered contracts yet,” Scott added.

“John and Efe will have to find four or five gems on very little money, but one thing we can offer those players is a fantastic little club where they’ll be able to display their skills and possibly move onto bigger and better things.

“While we might not be able to offer them the money they’re looking for, what we can do is give them a platform to improve their career.”

Macc play their first pre-season friendly away at Congleton Town on Saturday, 3pm kick off.

On Tuesday they travel to Leek Town for a 7.30pm kick off.