ACCRINGTON Stanley chief executive Rob Heys has vowed that the club’s worsening finances will not force them to loan out key players before the end of the season – two years after Paul Mullin’s shock move to Bradford.

Stanley are finding it difficult to meet a number of financial commitments as the club’s ownership struggle rumbles on and a similarly tough period towards the end of the 2008/09 campaign forced the Reds to loan out record goalscorer Mullin.

The striker’s surprise exit to a fellow League Two side just before the transfer deadline dismayed many Stanley fans, with the club allowing him to join Morecambe later that year to save on wages.

But Heys says a similarly difficult decision will not have to be taken before the end of the season, even though the Reds are increasingly strapped for cash after a number of postponements and a shortage of investment.

A three-way ownership battle has been deadlocked for months but could be close to being reignited, with Ilyas Khan studying the club’s accounts as he bids to push through a share issue.

Former chairman Eric Whalley has held the biggest stake in Stanley for several years and the sale of his shares to Dave O’Neill is still to be completed.

Heys has been in charge of day-to-day affairs as the ownership saga has dragged and, after sanctioning the deal to bring in Ian Craney on an 18-month contract in late January, he has pledged to keep the squad together to allow Stanley to make a play-off push.

The Reds already looked certain for a mid-table finish by the time Mullin was loaned out two years ago.

“Players will be going on loan but they will be fringe players,” said Heys.

“We showed on deadline day that we wanted to keep the squad together and bring in players to have a push for the play-offs. The Paul Mullin situation was a slightly different situation when we were in a comfortable position in the table.”

Stanley host Southend this afternoon with work to increase the Crown Ground’s capacity to 5,000 with an extension to the Coppice terrace now only days from being completed.

The playing surface has been heavy in recent weeks but Heys knows the club cannot afford any more postponements before the end of the season.

He said: “It is really important we get games on, not just financial reasons, but from a playing point of view as well.”