BURY chairman Terry Robinson has warned that more players wil be sold if the right offer comes along.

Supporters were shocked when rising star Chris Armstrong was sold to rivals Oldham Athletic last month for £200,000.

And it would have been even worse had Jon Newby not decided to snub Latics and stay at Gigg.

But Robinson has made it clear that - despite the fans feelings - the club has no option but to accept offers.

"If we put things bluntly, for this club to survive without the sale of players is a near impossibility," stated Robinson on the club's website.

"We have gate income that is less than £600,000 per year and a club wage bill of £1.4m. We have a youth policy that has cost the club £1.3m over four years.

"It is a very unpleasant fact of life that to run a football club, in our circumstances, the sale of players has to come into the equation.

"It happens at Crewe, who are very successful at it, and at many other clubs. The effect on the crowd is in a way self defeating but the cycle can only stop with better attendances.

"The bottom line is that the money will have to come from somewhere. Let's just hope it's a cup run or better attendances."

Robinson says he is as unhappy as anyone at the team's poor start but believesf the long-term prospects look good.

"This season has been very disappointing because there has only been about four games where we deserved no points," noted the chairman.

"We knew that the loss of (Nick) Daws, (Chris) Swailes and (Colin) Cramb would cause problems but we also knew our longer-term strategy of introducing younger players would result in a difficult season.

"The on-going requirement to sell players will hinder progress but there is still confidence that safety is a strong possibility.