KINGSTONIAN chairman Rajesh Khosla has made enough money out of the club and should follow the example of Chelsea's Ken Bates by going as quickly as possible, says manager Kim Harris.
Harris, whose future is still uncertain as he and the non-contract players have not been paid for nine weeks, declares: "Ken Bates finally got the message that it was time to go and Mr. Khosla should follow his example by handing over the club to the Ks Trust quickly with the minimum of fuss. Once he quits as chairman the Trust will inject money into the club and find it easier to raise funds.
"The last thing we need is another squabble over the contract negotiations. If that happens I will definitely walk away. That could cause the Trust to run out of money and the club to go under."
It is ironic that Bates originally bought Chelsea for £1 and the Ks Trust are giving Khosla £1 for their club, but are letting themselves in for liabilities of around £60,000, which includes the running costs until the end of the season.
Fifty-year-old former Walton manager Harris reveals: "I have still not been given any money for nine weeks and neither has our physio Greg Rowlands or the six non-contract players in our squad of 17. The supporters trust does not want to pay out any more of their funds until a contract is signed with Mr. Khosla.
"I don't mind waiting a bit longer to help the club, but I just hope Khosla will make the terms as favourable as possible so that the Trust can take over quickly.
"He did a deal to sell the Kingsmeadow ground to AFC Wimbledon for £2.4 million, but then said he was not ready to hand the club over to the Ks Trust because he wanted to be sure they were capable of running it. But in the meantime debts have been building up."
Ks Trust official Gary Ekins comments: "We are hoping the contract will be signed by the end of the month. It's not part of the terms that Rajesh Khosla resigns, but we will appoint our own officials.
"Hopefully, he will leave as quickly as possible so that we can pay non-contract staff, including players and Kim Harris. So far we have given £5,000 to players so we have got over £10,000 left, but we will be making an appeal for more funds."
Ks ended their poor run in the Ryman League with a surprise 1-0 win at Ford United on Tuesday - only their second victory in 11 games - and Harris now believes they can finish in the top 13 in the Premier Division, which would qualify them for a place in the new Conference Division One South. But he does not want his cash-strapped club to take it.
He explains: "As things stand it would be committing suicide for us to go into the Conference because we could not afford to pay for the extra travelling and other expenses. So if we qualify we should ask to stay in the Ryman Premier."
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