FANS are calling for the Accrington Stanley board to resign after it was revealed that the club have only paid £96,000 off their £308,000 tax bill.

The Reds were granted a seven-day stay of execution at the High Court yesterday after former shareholder Ilyas Khan and former vice chairman Peter Marsden stepped in as guarantors for any outstanding amount.

Mr Khan, a stockbroker, has offered the cash all the way through Stanley’s eight-week fight to raise the cash for the unpaid tax bill.

Reds bosses had previously refused because they did not want to relinquish control of the club.

Mr Khan’s latest offer is said to be unconditional and will not be in return for any shares.

He said: “The reason I will put forward the money is because I love Accrington and the club and that is the only reason.”

70 fans staged a 90-minute protest outside the Crown Ground last night from 6pm.

Mr Khan addressed the fans and got a standing ovation.

The fans were unhappy that the club had only sent £96,000, the day after claiming more than £200,000 had been repaid.

And they questioned why the total is less than the £116,000 Stanley have raised from their fund-raising campaign.

Others were angry that Mr Khan’s offer had not been accepted until the 11th hour.

Accrington Stanley Official Supporters’ Club chairman Rob Russell said: “I think there should be wholesale resignations of the board.

“The fans are disgusted that the news could chan-ge so dramatically in 48 hours.

"If it wasn’t for Ilyas Khan and Peter Marsden, there would be no club today.”

Chief Executive Rob Heys and chairman David O’Neill said delays in the handing all the fund-raising cash were down to problems with the transfer of credit card payments and other issues.

The court was told that £100,000 had been pledged from the Professional Footballers’ Association, but Stanley chiefs said this statement was a ‘mix up’.

At the 10.30am hearing a High Court judge warned the club that this was literally the last chance.

Rejecting the club’s bid for a two-week adjournment, Registrar Simmonds said: “I will give you seven days – that is the 4th of November – and mark it absolutely final.

"The petition debt must be paid in full.”

The court was also told Stanley had additional debts of £127,000.

After the hearing, chairman David O’Neill said: “Thanks to the gesture from Ilyas Khan and Peter Marsden, we can now meet that deadline with no problem.

"There’s not a doubt in my mind that the club is now safe.”

Mr Khan revealed how close Stanley came to closure, adding: “When we were in there the judge moved to wind up the club and I said we pledged any remaining cash.

“There was no plan B. If I hadn’t the judge would have wound us up.”