Haythornthwaite vow: Future of AFC Fylde is secure and I'm here for long-term

David Haythornthwaite looks forward to a time when his investment in AFC Fylde returns to pre-coronavirus levels

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The Coasters’ chief said last week he was not prepared to continue funding the club to the extent he had since 2007.

However, he has clarified those comments in another video interview posted online this week.

Haythornthwaite explained: “I tried to put a plan that linked the amount of money I could invest each year, as my business continued to grow and be successful, that would allow me to put more money into the football club.

“Every single year I’ve increased it until this season that we haven’t completed. I was putting in the equivalent of £1m into the football club – simple terms, £75,000 a month.

“What’s happened now is because everything is linked to the success of that business and that business is under threat.

“I’ve had to make the decision to not wait until the problem gets bigger or until it’s too late. But to say, ‘Let’s cut our cloth accordingly now.’

“That’s the way I’ve gone to Jonty (Castle, CEO) and Jim (Bentley, manager), and said, ‘This is the number we’re going to have to work with.’

“I think I gave an indication I wasn’t going to put a final number on it but it’s roughly 50 per cent of what I’m putting in now. That’s what we’re planning on for the next three to four months.”

However, as Haythornthwaite outlined, the level of funding depends on the wellbeing of his VetPlus business as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “Our businesses are in agriculture and the vets business. So far, touch wood, that’s held up and we haven’t seen a decrease – or a dramatic decrease – in our sales.

“I believe there is going to be a knock-on effect because a lot of people stocked up, a lot of our international customers.

“I’m thinking that come June, July, we will probably see a dip in our business – maybe 20, 25 per cent.

“It’s not Armageddon, so we have to try and guess where we think we’re going to be and that relates to the football club.

“What I’ve said to Jim and Jonty in our planning process is: as soon as things return to normal, then I will contribute back at the levels that we were pre-coronavirus.

“I’m in this football club for the long-term. This isn’t going to beat me, it’s not going to beat football, it’s not going to beat the world.

“The future of the football club is secure, people don’t need to worry about it.

“When I said it may not look the same as it did this year, that is still a serious option but I don’t mean the stands will be falling down. There will be bulldozers on site. I really meant it may be we don’t have as many high- paid stars as in the past – and that’s a maybe. We honestly don’t know.”