GLENN AITKEN, Gravesend & Northfleet's chief executive, this week promised the club are still planning to move from part-time to full-time status but admitted the transition was not imminent.

He was responding to manager Andy Ford's assertion he was unable to sign better players because they were reluctant to join a part-time club.

The Fleet are among a minority of part-time clubs in the Nationwide Conference which is now dominated by full-timers.

Ford said: "I'm frustrated at not being able to sign better players because they do not want to join a part-time club.

"I'm after players from a higher division than us and they want to be full-time. I was recently turned down by a Yeovil player only for the reason that we're part-time and that's frustrating."

Mr Aitken, who promised last month that revenue from the club's lucrative FA Cup run would go towards realising the full-time dream, stressed that it remained the club's ambition.

But he added: "To do so, we estimate that we would have to increase our annual income to £250,000. To help that we would require an increase in home attendances to 2,500 or 3,000.

"It's a classic case of the chicken and the egg. Which comes first? This club has sailed close to the wind financially in the past and no-one wants a repeat.

"I can assure Andy and our supporters we are planning to go full-time but it is not round the corner. First, we need to create new income streams.

"Since the FA Cup run, we have increased Andy's budget for players and have supported him the best we can in attracting better players.

"However, we accept that because we are a part-time club, we are excluded from recruiting certain players."