By Steve Tervet

Ebbsfleet United have paid off a “significant” chunk of their unpaid tax but the threat of a winding-up order still hangs over the club.

Donations totalling £2,000 came in over the weekend and that money helped Fleet bosses negotiate with HM Revenue & Customs on Monday.

Talks will take place on Tuesday to agree a payment plan with HMRC, detailing how and when the club must pay the rest of their outstanding tax bill.

HMRC could have applied for a winding-up order on Monday and although that immediate threat has been kept at bay, Fleet chairman Jessica McQueen stressed that more donations are needed to keep the club alive.

She said: “We are making a payment to HMRC today and possibly making another one tomorrow.

“We want people to understand that we need to keep making payments, we need to keep chipping away. We need people to donate what they can. The more we can pay off, the less chance there is of the club going under.

“Even if people think 'my 20 quid won’t make any difference', it will. Every £1,000 we chip off, if we’re sending payments regularly, it makes an impression on them (HMRC).”

Mrs McQueen and fellow director Phil Sonsara received a notice from HMRC last week stating they would apply for a winding-up order if they were not paid £37,000 by noon on Monday.

While the total debt has yet to be cleared, Mrs McQueen said the weekend’s donations had impacted Monday’s discussions with HMRC.

“We were able to offer £2,000 more than we thought we were going to,” she said. “It’s made a huge difference to the club. If people continue to donate, not just our own fans but fans of non-league grassroots football, and if all those Gravesend faces who went to Wembley (for the 2008 FA Trophy Final) put in a few quid, it would solve the issue. Even if they come down with £10 in their pocket it can make a difference.

“We have to come up with a payment plan, with targets we have to meet. We can’t afford for fans to think this has gone away. We still need their support. They have to want us to keep being a football club.”