Norgrove's side of the story

Harriers prospectively released eight first-team players this week, while skipper Mark Creighton was sold to Oxford on Tuesday.

Now Norgrove has come forward to explain the club's actions at length, and the plans in place to improve the financial outlook before the summer is out.

First he answered the critics by insisting that to keep those let go would have been spending money the club don't have, putting the Aggborough club in the red before a ball has even been kicked.

He said: "I think the fans have got the wrong end of the stick a little bit. They are slaughtering me for letting these players go, but they don't realise that we cannot spend, spend, spend.

"If we did, we would run the risk of having no football club left after."

Among the nine let go were players that manager Mark Yates undoubtedly wanted to keep, such as 20-goal striker Justin Richards and England C goalkeeper Adam Bartlett.

Most will attract attention - Luke Jones has already signed for Mansfield - and all will want a better deal than what was on offer at Aggborough.

But football recession's bites, so much so that Norgrove wouldn't surprised to see some return to Harriers to see what is still on offer.

He said: "What we have said to the players the manager wanted to keep is - 'go and see what is out there, if you can find better money so be it, if not we are still here with an offer on the table.'

"But no-one has been signed up yet, maybe they are starting to realise that there is not a lot of money out there.

"I have got a funny feeling that we could see some of them back here by the end of the summer."

Rumours persist that the club's playing budget has been chopped in half for 2009/10, but Norgrove insists that it's the same as it was this time last summer.

He said: "No club can legislate for cup runs or anything like that, so we cannot spend money we haven't earned yet."

The Harriers chairman sees the current budget as a starting point and, with two prospective new directors in the pipeline, £100,000 could soon be pumped into the club.

With money spinning home friendly matches against Premier League Wolves, Albion, Hereford and Port Vale also to come over the summer, some much needed revenue could be coming Harriers' way.

Norgrove added: "Whatever we can generate outside of operating costs, Mark will have all the spoils."