STEVE Cuss’s Wimborne Town departure has yet to be rubber stamped – but whoever takes the hotseat will have to trim their playing budget by more than 40 per cent.

At a candid fans’ forum last night, chairman Ken Stewart delivered the news that Magpies needed to reduce their £1,750-per-week war chest to £1,000 in a bid to address an annual deficit of more than £40,000.

Manager and director Cuss, who holds a majority shareholding in club's parent company Parmiter Holdings, was not present but had a statement signalling his intention to quit read out by fellow director Ken Fergus.

The rest of Wimborne’s board revealed they were still working to persuade Cuss, who tendered his resignation for the second time this season following Saturday's 3-0 home defeat to Slimbridge, to stay on.

Their bid was questioned by some supporters but Stewart said the last-ditch attempt was almost certain to prove futile. Cuss will be granted another week to decide but a definitive answer could arrive on Thursday.

Assistant manager Paul Roast takes temporary charge but has already ruled himself out of the running long-term. He will be assisted by revered coach John Macey with the club hopeful of enlisting the help of former Cherry Matty Holmes.

Speaking after the forum, Stewart admitted he had expected Magpies to be perched “above half way at least” on their previous budget and that Cuss felt he had been “let down massively” by the players.

The Cuthbury chief did, however, back the bulk of the squad to stay put and haul the club away from the Southern South & West drop zone – despite the swingeing cutbacks.

Stewart told The Echo’s sister paper The (Bournemouth) Daily Echo: “I feel the pressure of Steve’s work has led to this decision and I cannot argue with that. He has always given 100 per cent to Wimborne but it hasn’t paid off and he has to make a choice.

“We want him to stay but he hasn’t as yet and I don’t think he will.

“It has been an emotional time. He has really become friends with the players and perhaps that is not the case with every manager.

“Sometimes you have to be a bit more ruthless than that and I know 100 per cent they feel they have let him down.

“We will give him a week to reconsider but I don’t think he will and if that is the case, we will actively seek a new manager.”

Addressing the club’s cashflow, Stewart added: “The budget cut had to come. We are moving to a new ground and want to do so debt free, it is important to us. As directors, we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t look at the monetary situation.

“We would all like to carry on paying the players but they haven’t done the business. They know that most teams start off as they would like to, with their best side together to reach further stages in the FA Cup and FA Trophy, the paying competitions which a lot of grassroots clubs depend on.

“That has not happened here so we have had to look at it closely.

“I think the budget we have been paying, £1,750, is a huge amount. I expected to be above half way at least on that. Looking at other clubs and knowing how much they spend, we were on a par with those fighting for top-five positions.

“Steve Cuss would put up his hands. He has done all he can and feels he has gone as far as he can with the group of players he brought in. He feels they have let him down massively and I think in all honesty, the players would tell you that too.

“We have top players here and a top manager but they just don’t perform sometimes. There is no rhyme or reason to it. We could win the next 10 games, even with a dropped budget. I do firmly believe we will get out of trouble.

On the prospect of losing players, Stewart said: “I would expect most of the senior players to stay. I have spoken to a couple who have seen pay cuts before. Most of them love Wimborne and are not here for the money.

“But there are some who treat it as a second job and the income is essential to their way of life so maybe a couple will go. We don’t want them to but if they do, we will wish them all the best.”