BURNLEY chief executive Paul Fletcher has apologised to season ticket holders angry at having to move seats for the new season – but insisted it had to be done to allow the club to compete with their Championship rivals.

The Lancashire Telegraph has been contacted by a number of fans after almost 200 supporters, who had already purchased season tickets for the 2011/12 campaign, were informed they must relocate.

Season tickets went on sale in March but Burnley announced at the weekend that a section of prime seats at the back of the Jimmy McIlroy lower tier will now be put aside for a new 400-seat Premier Club.

The corporate facility is being introduced to bring in much needed revenue as the Clarets bid to increase income ahead of the Football League’s new financial fair play rules, which are due to kick in ahead of the 2012/13 campaign.

Wage bills at Championship clubs are set to be limited to a percentage of turnover and Burnley, who recently closed the Community Sports Trust at Turf Moor for financial reasons, fear that could see them fall behind many of their rivals as things stand.

Fletcher last night held the first of two meetings with the season ticket holders affected by the relocation and hopes those who have initially demanded refunds will reconsider.

David Brown, a season ticket holder from 30 years, was among those due to meet Fletcher last night after being told he would have to leave the seat he has had since the club moved home fans out of the Cricket Field Stand around a decade ago.

“This is really bad PR for the club,” said the 57-year-old, who said he would demand a refund if he was not satisfied by the club’s response to his concerns.

“It's a slap in the face. We bought our season tickets and paid up in March to renew. To me, I entered into a contract with them.

“The first option they gave us was to move to another seating area, but it’s not saving anything.

“The second was to become a member of the Premier Club for an extra £400 and the third was to relocate in the Jimmy McIlroy lower tier and have two free temporary passes for the Premier Club, but why would I want to go in there?

“The fans are always there – you get different chairmen, different players, different staff but the fans are constant. Why kick them in the teeth?”

Another supporter, who asked not to be named, said: “Why didn’t they tell us about this when we bought the tickets before the end of last season?”

“All of the decent seats will have gone now – we’ve been offered free passes to the Premier Club but it’s not the sort of thing I’m interested in.”

Fletcher is hopeful that fans will understand the club’s motives behind the move, but acknowledges the timing of the announcement was bad.

“I have spoken to some people who are annoyed and, while they are still annoyed, I hope they understand more now about why we have taken this decision,” said Fletcher, who insisted the club were confident of selling all 400 Premier Club seats.

“We have to keep up with other football clubs and we have to bring money in if we want to stay in the Championship or go back up to the Premier League.

“We are probably bottom of the Championship at the moment for corporate revenue.

“Since the stand was built 15 years ago we have had an empty void, and for the last four years we have been losing money with the Community Sports Trust.

"We have to put something in place that makes a profit.

“I accept that the timing of this is poor, really poor, and I apologise for that.

“But it just wasn’t possible to make an earlier decision because of a number of considerations, including the closure of the CST and the redundancies of the people there, and the university.

"We had a decision about whether to wait 12 months.

“My job every day is to put my hand on my heart and ask, ‘Is what we’re doing best for Burnley Football Club?’ “I could have sat on my hands for 12 months with this and not made myself unpopular, but it wouldn’t have been best for the club.

“It is about raising more money for the club and being able to give Eddie Howe more money for players.

“I am sure refunds would be possible but I would hope it wouldn’t come to that.

"Supporters are being given the opportunity to move two or three rows, or to better seats which would normally cost £50 or £60 more.”

Fletcher is due to hold a second meeting with fans in the new University and College of Football Business auditorium at the rear of the Jimmy McIlroy Stand on Monday at 6pm.