Gateshead’s players and staff have demanded club owner Dr Ranjan Varghese and chief financial adviser Joseph Cala leave immediately over broken promises and unpaid wages.

Things reached breaking point for those inside the club when they 
were promised that they would be paid on March 29, only to be told they would have to wait until April 1 — at the time of writing they were yet to be paid.

To compound matters, last Friday’s training session was abruptly halted in order for players to remove their belongings from the Gateshead International Stadium and leave the premises as the club had been kicked out due to unpaid debts.

The club have been allowed to play their remaining home fixtures in the stadium but have been told they cannot train there.

Former Rochdale chair Chris Dunphy agreed in principle on Sunday to take control of the Heed but the National League side are still under the ownership of Dr Varghese and the workers have had enough.

In a statement, Gateshead players allege that Dr Varghese told manager Ben Clark “that we will not be paid unless he calls the National League and successfully requests them to release funds from the bond.”

The statement drafted and approved by all players and coaching staff reads: “The Gateshead Football Club playing staff would like to issue the following statement regarding the owners of the club.

“We use the word owners in reference not only to Ranjan Varghese – the named owner of Gateshead Football Club – but also Joseph Cala, the man we all feel has been unofficially running the club virtually unopposed since the start of the 2018/19 season.

“As of writing this statement, all staff at the club are still awaiting our wages for the month of March. This was due on Friday 29 and then later promised to be paid by Monday April 1.

“Our manager has since been told by Cala that we will not be paid unless he calls the National League and successfully requests them to release funds from the bond. We believe that this is a highly inappropriate and unprofessional thing for the club’s ownership to say to our manager in our current situation.

“For the months of January, February and March 2019 in particular, we have encountered several problems receiving our wages. Players and staff have not been paid on time for three months running and some have been paid improperly. Several outstanding expenses are still owed as well.”

The statement goes on to say that staff welcome the sale of the club to Dunphy and that should Dr Varghese “fail to go through with your promise to allow Chris to be in a position to take over at the club, we will be left with no choice but to take immediate action.”

Gateshead are currently 9th in the National League, five points off the play-off spots.

Despite the stresses and problems off the pitch, the players have continued to act in a professional manner “and continued to perform above and beyond all expectations,” but “have reached the point where these decisions are now affecting our lives away from the football club.”

They note that the senior playing staff is minuscule compared to the rest of the league and that they have made it “abundantly clear” that Dr Varghese and Cala must leave.

“This serious financial mismanagement at the club has to stop,” the statement continues. “We are a squad of 16 senior players with one of if not the smallest wage bill in the National League yet debts and wages are still left unpaid.

“There have been numerous hurdles we’ve had to face over the course of the season, such as travelling to almost every away game on the day, having to get up as early as 5am with no pre-match meals (until Saturday, thanks to Gateshead Soul) in order to cut costs.

“Still, this barely scratches the surface of all the damage that has been done.

“We have always given 100% for the badge but we could not have done this without the immense support from the simply unbelievable Heed Army who have backed us through thick and thin while those in charge haven’t.

“While our job is not yet complete, we continue to compete while battling the stresses of being thrown out of our home stadium as well as the financial predicament of not being paid properly, if at all.

“Many of us have bills to pay and young families to provide for and it is seriously concerning that very little explanation or apology has been given as to why this has been allowed to happen. This is your doing, not anyone else’s.

“As owners, you have a responsibility to honour contracts, agreements and show a basic level of human decency and respect towards your staff – none of us have ever experienced anything like this before and we feel we have reached the point where we cannot continue while you, the current owners, are still at the club.

“Should you fail to go through with your promise to allow Chris to be in a position to take over at the club, we will be left with no choice but to take immediate action.

“It is up to you to ensure that it does not come to that.”