MONEY WORRIES: Debenham Leisure Centre are bottom of the Premier Division of the Ridgeons League – and it’s hardly a surprise.

Manager Mel Aldis has just been given permission to up his budget yet he has to satisfy his whole squad for a less in a month than a top striker in the division pockets in a week.

It is believed that Aldis has �200 at his disposal each month, which works out at �3.37 a player per week.

And Aldis today admitted the frustrations he is currently under.

“I am still enjoying it but I’m going into games now filled with apprehension rather than positivity,” said the man with a managerial pedigree that saw him take Earl Soham Victoria to the final of the Carlsberg Pub Cup at Wembley Stadium.

“I’ll not walk away but if asked to look ahead a year or so I can’t confirm that I will still be here.

“At the end of the day you cannot make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear.”

A local man, Aldis can rightly take great pride from taking Debenham from SIL junior football to the highest grade league in East Anglia.

But with his talent he deserves to be running a side hunting for silverware rather than one with a sole ambition of avoiding the bottom three.

Such is the uneven playing field that he finds himself.

“While we were doing well we were getting away with goodwill and a can of beer,” added Aldis. “But having over achieved it is not so easy now.

“Looking at the Premier Division table, if you take the games in hand, it is virtually from top to bottom in relation to have much money is being handed out to players.

“We are not giving up despite a couple of hammerings, and there are six or seven teams around us that we will treat as a mini league and look to get as much as we can from those games.”

Only two points cover the bottom six teams with four goals from Ollie Mann helping Brantham overtake Debenham after victories over Felixstowe and Walton United and Histon Reserves.

Woodbridge Town moved off bottom spot with successive home victories against FC Clacton and Mildenhall Town.

“I’m not going to whinge about things,” added Aldis. “But I we find ourselves in a Catch 22 situation and I’m dealing with players who are happy to be playing at this level rather than being happy at winning at this level.

“If a big benefactor came along of course we would take it, but as much as want to stay in the Premier Division there is a desire to give local boys a chance to play at the highest level possible.”