Macclesfield Town Football Club has raised more than half of the £50,000 needed by the end of the month in order to survive.

But the club still needs to generate a ‘considerable’ amount of further funds to pay off historical debts and continue running, bosses have said.

It fought off administration and is in the process of becoming a Community Interest Company after it agreed a deal to sell the freehold on its Moss Rose stadium to Cheshire East Council for £285,000.

Despite that, £100,000 must still be raised by the end of August – half of which is needed by the end of this month.

And so far, the Silkmen have sold more than 600 season tickets for the upcoming campaign which, combined with donations of £7,000 from fans and contributions from local businesses, has seen them draw in a total of £26,000.

Speaking to the club’s website, acting director Andy Scott, said the club was still owed a ‘significant’ amount of money by local firms and would be chasing these up imminently. But he said it was vital that Maxonians continued to back the club.

He said: “We’ve had donations from supporters, which is amazing, and we’ve also had offers of investment from local companies.

“So when we add up everything since the fans’ forum, we’re more than halfway to reaching that £50,000 target that we set ourselves for the end of July.

“We have had a lot of support, but now is the time for everyone to step up to the plate if they want the club to survive.

“Sentiment, promises and pledges are one thing, but actually getting people to follow up and write the cheques is the crucial part.

“There’s also a number of local companies who owe the club a significant amount of money, which could make a real difference, and chasing up on those is high on our priority list.

“But without trying to put a dampener on our current situation, even with the council investment and the fundraising so far, we still need considerable funds to pay the remainder of those historical debts and, of course, run a football club.

“Obviously we’d like to field a competitive squad this season, and every penny we raise is a penny we don’t have to take out of the manager’s budget going forward.

“Be under no illusions that this is going to be a difficult season as we deal with the current situation, but you never know.”

Club received offers for scrapped pay to play plan

Two aspiring footballers offered to pay £20,000 to play for Macclesfield Town, it has been revealed.

The Express broke the story two weeks ago that the Silkmen were willing to allow a member of the public to play 10 minutes of a competitive game in exchange for a huge cash lump sum.

The idea, thought to be the first of its kind in British football, made national headlines across the world.

The club apologised and withdrew the offer just 24 hours later, after the footballing authorities said it brought the integrity of the game into question.

Now, acting director Andy Scott said despite withdrawing the proposal, they have been contacted by two people interested in taking them up on it.

One man was from Alderley Edge, with the other from Manchester.

One is believed to have offered the full £20,000, while the second offered £10,000 to play up to 20 minutes in a competitive match.

It has not been revealed how old they are or whether they are fans of the club.

Andy told a fans’ forum at the Moss Rose last Thursday: “I’d like to apologise for any offence that people had from the pay to play. It was just an idea which went viral.

“I had calls from the BBC, Talksport, Sky Sports, and an American TV company.

“We were on Channel Nine news in Australia even, and by this stage we started to panic. It was never meant to go that far.

“We have actually had two offers for it, but unfortunately, had to withdraw it.”