Crisis club Crawley Town have slashed the playing budget for new boss Steve Evans next season by £2,000 per week.

Owner Azwar Majeed has taken the drastic step to take account of unexpected costs arising from the administration agreement reached with creditors, including a £65,000 claim from four former players.

Evans' No. 2 Paul Raynor was unaware of the latest twist in the Crawley saga when The Argus contacted him.

It is unclear whether Evans himself, currently on a coaching course in Scotland and unavailable for comment, is also in the dark.

Majeed revealed the financial bombshell in a statement yesterday on the club's website.

He said a total of £195,000 has been paid to Begbies Traynor, the administrators called in last season.

"We were advised that all creditors would be paid in full before costs were paid but this has not been the case," Majeed claimed.

"A percentage of this payment has been distributed to non-football creditors but a large proportion was taken by Begbies Traynor for remuneration.

"We now have to find a further six-figure sum of money to ensure creditors are paid in full by June 30."

The Company Voluntary Arrangement has also been increased by £64,755 to take account of fresh claims for compensation by ex-players Paul Armstrong, Jamie Cade, Neil Jenkins and Scott Ward.

They accepted out of court settlements last October and Crawley thought that was the end of the matter.

Majeed said: "I planned to invest £350,000 next season in order to bring the players budget up to the same level as last season but, due to the inflated claims re-submitted by the secured football creditors, our budget has been reduced by £2,000 per week.

"Fans will be aware that promotion winning teams have a large budget of around £20,000 per week. Our budget is now not even half of this."

Raynor, when told of the latest development, said: "That is news to me. I'll certainly make enquiries, because I would be interested to see that. I don't know what has gone on the website. I am cracking on with other more positive matters, so I couldn't comment on that at all."

Will Crawley Town be able to hold their own in the Conference next season after this latest bombshell to hit the Broadfield Stadium club?