Romsey Town boss Wayne Mew is seriously considering his options for next season.

Although Mew has performed miracles to transform Town from Sydenhams Premier relegation battlers to a potential top-six side in just two seasons, he is becoming increasingly disheartened by lack of support from the council and local community.

“We had the club moving forwards, but over the last couple of months we seem to have been going backwards again,” said Mew.

“The public of Romsey are not helping us and neither are Test Valley Borough Council.

“If the financial situation of the club goes backwards, myself and Stuart (assistant manager Stuart Long) will have to consider whether we stay at Romsey next season.”

Despite much improved results this term, Romsey continue to struggle to attract fans through the gate. They average crowds of around 50 for league games – a poor return from a town with a population nearing 15,000.

An even bigger bugbear for the management team is lack of council backing.

Instead of getting positive vibes from the local authority, Mew says all he seems to hear is criticism.

Not only have the club been told to remove advertising boards from the front of the clubhouse, which faces onto the main road, but there have been complaints that their floodlights are too bright.

“They’re telling us to remove the advertising boards but, if we do, the sponsorship won’t come in next year,” said Mew.

“The advertising boards are within the ground, not external, but people won’t pay for them unless they’re on show to the main road.

“If we lose that advertising money, the club’s financial situation will go backwards and Stuart and I will struggle to look forward to next season if the basic funding is not there.

“It’s not the players’ budget I’m talking about, it’s the general running of the club.

“It’s a struggle to even pay for trips to the Isle of Wight.

“In the past I’ve been willing to pay some out of my own pocket, but there comes a time when it has to stop.”

As for the floodlights, the flabbergasted Long said: “These lights have been up for about 30 years and suddenly they’re telling us they’re too bright!

“You achieve so much, but sometimes the lack of support is painful.”

Mew’s predecessor Glenn Burnett grew similarly disenchanted with Romsey’s plight although, in his case, the main problem was lack of helpers.

Mew has solved that by bringing extra bodies on board, including a groundsman and gateman, but still it feels as if he is hitting his head against a brick wall.

“We’ve got Francis Benali running the reserves and we’ve brought youth football into the club, but the people of Romsey and the local council don’t seem to appreciate what’s going on here,” he said.

“We get things done and then people moan about it.

“Hopefully it will change, but lack of finances and support is a big stumbling block and, at the moment, I don’t see a future for us there. We need more support to help us push forward.”

Paula Noble, Test Valley Borough Council’s communications officer, confirmed: “The Council has contacted Romsey Football Club and asked them to remove a number of advertising signs because they have not been authorised.”

TVBC also indicated that the original complaint about Romsey’s floodlights had been raised by Hampshire County Council.