MACCLESFIELD Town are on the brink of extinction after being ordered to pay £257,000 by the FA - in just SIX weeks.

The Silkmen have been fined £62,000 and ordered to pay £195,000 compensation to the Football Foundation by January 31 after a Disciplinary Commission found the cash-strapped Cheshire club guilty of four counts of financial irregularities relating to the building of the McAlpine Stand between 2000-2.

But there has been outrage among Town officials at the unrealistic and ‘draconian cash demands’.

Falling attendances has seen the club haemorrhaging up to £25,000 a month, and the punishment - which Macc are expected to appeal against - threatens the Moss Rose outfit’s future, especially with majority shareholders Amar and Bashar Alkhadi unwilling to pay for the ‘mistakes’ of a previous administration.

"The FA has cast doubt on the survival of Macclesfield Town Football Club," said a statement on the club’s official website. "The total of fines, costs and compensation to the Football Foundation will approximately amount to a staggering £300,000 to be paid within six weeks.

"Club representatives, who presented evidence in defence and in mitigation of the charges, were devastated by the outcome. The current major shareholders have always been committed to the original plans of Macclesfield Town FC but do not feel it appropriate, or fair, for them to pay for the mistakes of a previous regime by meeting these new and draconian cash demands."

The investigation centred around a payment made to the club’s previous administration in connection to the stand during 2000-2. Football Foundation rules forbid clubs receiving more than 80 per cent of the total funding for any construction project but it has now been established the payment eventually covered the entire cost.

Building company boss Eddie Furlong, who was chairman when the club applied for funding in 2000, always denied any malpractice. He was unable to be contacted yesterday (Tues).

The FA were unable to comment further as Macclesfield Town have the right to request written reasons for the inquiry’s decision and the right to appeal, according to an FA spokesman.

The penalty did not include a points deduction.