Sheffield United chief executive Stephen Bettis insists the club is in no danger of entering administration.
Reports on Friday said the club had taken measures to cut spending and avoid threatening management.
Betis denied taking such measures, including cutting back on lawn fertilizer and turning off the undersoil heating at the training ground. The CEO admitted that United had failed to pay many suppliers on time.
“We’re not going into administration… There’s not even a threat,” Bettis said.
“Let’s be very frank, if you look at the Championship, everyone knows that every club works as hard as they can, because the truth is the amount you invest in the first team gets results.
Usually, the people who spend the most get a promotion.
“There are many clubs under ban and some have paid their players late, but we’ve never done that and have no intention of doing that. I have money in the bank to pay wages at the end of this month.
“This is complete and utter nonsense.”
United were handed a ban in January for failing to pay a scheduled installment of a previous transfer fee on time and finances are tight after being relegated from the Premier League in 2021.
The club rejected requests to buy striker Elimane Ndiaye and midfielder Sander Berge in January. Betis highlighted the decision to keep the two players as evidence that they are not in a desperate financial situation.
“We received offers for Sander and Elliman in the summer and in January and rejected offers in both windows,” the company’s CEO added. If we were at that level of financial difficulty we would have taken that money in January, but we said no.
“The manager said ‘I don’t want anyone in January as long as we keep Elliman and Sander. That would be two new signings.”
Betis explained that undersoil heating at United’s Shirecliffe training ground had failed twice but had not been shut down as a cost-cutting measure.
The undersoil heating stopped working after a snowfall in March, and United owed the company that operated them £26,000. This was paid the next day.
“So for one day the players and the manager had to go (and train) inside,” Betis said.
United’s chief executive said reports that the club had reduced the use of turf fertilizer and paint, restricted the use of data used by analysts and scouts and reduced the number of irregular workers and part-time staff were all false.
He admitted that the club had failed to pay many suppliers on time.
“Let’s be very frank,” Bettis added. “We stretch every pound we get, every pound and give everything we can to the first team in order to get promoted, basically. We stretch payment dates to suppliers, etc., like any other business and every other club in order to maximize the return on it.
“We’re trying to be smart with our money to invest as much as we can in the first team and be successful, and that’s right.”
.
