Radstock Football Club's chairman Simon Wilkinson shakes his head in baffled bemusement at the kind of figures being bandied around as the Premier League players argue whether they should have a pay cut.

He has been managing the club, one of the oldest in the country, for the past five years and now he desperately needs what the top clubs might consider small change just to keep the grass alive.

With play and training suspended, and the club house closed, he is watching the weeds on the ground spread knowing that unless a football fairy godmother arrives he won't be able to pay the £1,200 needed to feed the turf. That's what Radstock FC needs - a bare minimum - to stop the pitch turning into an area of what he calls "dust and weeds."

Right now, with the goal posts down, Simon, who works as a utility supply engineer and is himself the main groundsman, does what he can himself, but there is a limit to what he can achieve.

With no ticket sales and no pennies from the pints of beer being sold from the club house, it is clear to see that they are between a rock and a hard place.

Just to put it in context on a good day Radstock FC might see one hundred supporters through the gates,with adults paying £5 a ticket, £3 for older fans and kids under 16 going in for free. That would be if the team were taking on their arch rivals Welton Rovers who play down the road in Midsomer Norton.

So Simon can be forgiven for not being sure where he is going to find the money for weed killer.

When the season - if the season - kicks off on the first week of August, even if the players are there (and his son Luke Ingram is first team captain) who knows if the pitch will even be playable.

Simon is trying to be steady but they haven't pulled a pint in the club house for three weeks.

He told Nub News: " It is our life blood,like any small business, as it stands without the money coming in there are certain things that we need to do in closed season which has come early. As you can see the goal posts are down.

" Where are we going to find the money? It never been easy to run the club financially, we have had our low points and our high points.

"When we played Yeovil we had a decent crowd and took some decent money then on the gate as well as behind the bar. When you are not open (as a club house) and you are not playing football unfortunately it all dries up."

About the Premier players and their wages Simon is diplomatic " Well they are at different level..... They are paid to play football and they can't play football right now. Whether they all deserve (that pay) or not, is a different argument. Everyone has an opinion."

But for Radstock FC he is trying to remain positive and hoping for the best.

"We are going to be sailing close to the wind. I enjoy doing the pitch, but with the summer renovations there is a lot of grass needs replacing which is something I don't have the money or equipment to do. We are struggling to see how we are going to stop the pitch from just becoming an area of dust and weed."

The Football Association could help the lower leagues with their summer renovations. Radstock FC is thinking about applying for a Tool Station league loan which has been offered, but without being clear about what is happening, the managers are reluctant to take on the debt.

Simon said: " I just want to watch football. The players will be doing their own things, they just want to play football, they were having a decent season and it looked good for us. It is nobody's fault. But it is sad."