GARY Reeves believes that the decision to move Burnham into Southern Division One South & West is “killing” the football club, writes Rob Stevens.

Burnham were one of three clubs moved by the FA from Division One Central and into South & West this summer, but financial restraints are affecting their ability to compete.

Ex-boss Mark Tallentire resigned last week – after just nine matches in charge – when cuts were made to the playing budget.

Reeves admits he is paying the price for past mistakes at The Gore, and he intends to fight for the club’s future and is demanding answers from the FA.

He told the Observer: “It’s very easy for people to knock us because we’ve been through the mill, but we’re trying to move in the right direction.

“People made mistakes before I arrived. I’m paying the price for them but I’ve got to try and sort them out.

“The club has to survive so we decided to look at the budget again. It’s not what we wanted to do, but the only way to keep on going is to shave cuts off the playing budget.

“The cost of travel has hit us hard and we’re not getting a lot of people through the gate, we are making a loss.

“It’s hard work because clubs don’t bring many fans because it’s too far to travel.

“We’ve had to cut our cloth accordingly and people don’t know how hard this year will be. It’s trial and error, unfortunately, and very hard to judge.

“In terms of travel, we’re trying to do deals here and there, some come off and others don’t so we are constantly living on the edge.”

Reeves blasted: “I won’t let this go with the FA and Southern League because I’m not happy with the decision.

“I just want to get my point across that this is wrong.

“I’m not going to go away or lie down because we shouldn’t be in this league, we’re a Central-based club. There are a lot of things that I want answers for because I didn’t want to lose a manager I have a lot of time for.

“I had hoped Mark would work under the cut budget but I know he’s a proud man. It’s unfortunate and I had expected it to be hard, but not this hard.”

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Burnham, Reeves is confident that players will remain focused and that a new manager can be appointed soon.

He said: “I’m just trying to get things moving and have received applications for the manager’s role. I want someone to come in and give it a go on a tight, shoestring budget.

“I want someone who can understand where we’re trying to get to and be patient as we try to steady the ship.

“There were no guarantees made to the players because this is non-league football, but they’ve been paid their expenses week-in-week-out and no-one is owed any money.

“If we lose a couple of players then we will get a couple more in. Things change but that happens at professional clubs as well.

“The spirit amongst the squad is very good at the moment and Bryon Walton will take charge this Saturday.”