Oxford City chairman Mick Woodley has defended the club's decision to cut the playing budget for the new season.

Woodley admitted that City's players had received a "significant" cut to their wages.

But despite this, it appears that almost all of them have decided to stay at Court Place Farm.

Woodley said: "It gets financially more and more difficult to generate the money that is needed to keep a club at our level.

Oxford City chairman Mick Woodley has reduced wage bill "It is obvious many non-League clubs have major financial worries and are spending more than they can afford.

"We have recently seen Witney fold with reported debts of £80,000 and Thame announce they will go into liquidation unless Windmill Road is sold for housing.

"We needed to look very critically at our own expenditure. Of course the main cost is on players' wages. You cannot spend what you cannot earn and our gates leave an awful lot to be desired.

"Despite the fact the players have had to take a wage cut as far as I know they have all signed on again for us this season - although Richard Peirson is not playing and Terry Sweeney is going to be a full-time musician.

"Hopefully Oxford City has a lot more to offer than pure financial reward. I think it is still the club to play for locally."

City have enjoyed cash windfalls in recent seasons from Jermaine McSporran's transfer to Wycombe Wanderers and the FA Cup run which saw them reach the first round where they had a money-spinning three-match tie against Wycombe.

But Woodley said a lot of that money had been spent on Court Place Farm.

"At the end of the day you have got to look at the stand and the work done on the ground. An awful lot of money has been spent.

"For the last couple of years we have sunk money into players' wage bills over what we can generate through the gate, and there comes a time when you cannot do that."

City manager Paul Lee was philosophical about the cuts - which he claimed were the third in four years.

"Although I am obviously disappointed that the budget has been cut again I do understand the economics of it," he said.

And City's ground does continue to come in for praise.

Woodley added: "We have just had a letter from the Combination congratulating us on some of the best facilities that the ground assessors have seen in 30 years of doing the job at non-League level."