ONLY three clubs in the Nationwide League, Division 1, have been able to guarantee fulfilling their fixtures this season and Gillingham are not among them.

The straw poll was conducted among chairmen and chief executives and further underlines the financial plight of Division 1 clubs caused by the collapse of ITV Digital.

The situation is now so serious that when Division 1 chairmen and chief executives were asked at a recent meeting how many could guarantee fulfilling their fixtures this season only three - leaders Portsmouth, Wolves and Norwich - raised their hands.

Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan, whose side drew 2-2 with Gillingham on Sunday, predicted that several clubs will be in administration by the end of the season.

“I believe that seven or eight clubs will be going into administration by the end of the season, if not before,” he said. Mr Jordan laid the blame for the problem on players' wages.

"We have been paying players too much. The average wage bill among Palace players is £297,000 per year and I have to get them down to around £200,000 - which is still a very good salary - if we are to stop losing money."

Mr Jordan called for a restructuring of the league, adding: “We need to restructure so that Division 1 is run by 24 club chairmen, not all 72 in the league. The Premier League works because they've got 20 chairmen who all meet and agree on how to run their own division.”