THE future of Banbury United FC is subject to discussions - but club chairman David Bennett has denied supporters are being kept in the dark.

United's lease on home ground Spencer Stadium runs out in May next year and a worried fan has written to the Banbury Cake warning "this season could be the last".

The anonymous fan's letter says: "United will not have a ground to play on after May 2007 - when will the board wake up to reality?

"Supporters have been told nothing and there is growing concern as we seem unable to get a straight answer from the chairman.

"Where is the money coming from for a new ground, or how can the club afford to ground share?

"In this situation, surely the supporters and the whole of Banbury should be asked for their support."

Mr Bennett refuted the claim that he had failed to talk to the fans.

He said: "I have made statements in the programme notes and I spoke to supporters at Saturday's match at Taunton.

"The club is working closely with all the representative bodies we should be talking to in this situation, but negotiations are at a critical stage and there is nothing we can say at the moment.

"We are all working hard at discussions, and as soon as we can make a statement, we will."

But an insider at the club, who did not want to be named, said that the immediate future was not as bleak as some feared.

He said: "The stadium site cannot be built on because of flooding, but the local council is planning to do work to remedy this. As soon as that work is done, then the land can be developed, but it is my understanding that the council cannot afford to do the work at the moment, and that we have perhaps another two or three years at the stadium. The owner technically still wants us out at the end of the season, but the signs are good that some agreement can be reached."

And club chairman Mr Bennett added: "I am determined that Banbury United will continue to be a good football team.

"The club is now playing a higher standard of football than ever before in its history - and a town the size of Banbury should have a quality football side."

Banbury United is celebrating 75 years of football in Banbury this season, and the team is riding high in the Southern League Premier Division. The club began life as works team Spencer Villa in 1931, and changed the name to Banbury Spencer in 1934, when they moved to the Spencer Stadium.

The club's links with Spencer's, the former corset factory in Britannia Road, ended in 1965 and the name Banbury United was adopted.

In the early 1980s, the club was in financial difficulties and plans were drawn up to sell the ground, clear the debts, and build a new stadium.

The scheme did not go ahead, but by 1984 the money situation was so bad that Spencer Stadium was put up as security for the club's debts.

The club survived another rocky period in 1990, and the financial situation nosedived again in the mid-1990s. In 1997, a new committee gave United a fresh start - and ground improvements, including a new stand, went ahead. Banbury United in action at Spencer Stadium. Could this season be the club's last at the ground?