LEIGH RMI'S survival has been guaranteed - for the time being.

After recently announcing a round of swingeing pay cuts - up to two-thirds in some cases - the cost-saving measure has been put on hold.

To ensure continued payments of wages at their current level, the club has secured a £50,000 loan which has been guaranteed by members of the RMI committee.

While the move safeguards the existing playing and coaching staff, RMI stress that the loan is a rescue package, not a solution to the cash crisis that has hit the Hilton Park club.

Club secretary Alan Robinson says: "Sadly we have joined the most fashionable club in football - those experiencing serious financial difficulties.

"For RMI to continue playing Nationwide Conference football, the full support of the people of the Leigh area, as spectators and sponsors, cannot be over-emphasised.

"The rescue package will take the strain off, but it clearly isn't a long-term solution. We need more people through the turnstiles on match days, need a major sponsor and need to make a bigger effort to attract smaller sponsors to the club.

"All this has been done with one thing in mind - keeping Leigh RMI in the Nationwide Conference. The management and players understand this and there is no doubt that they are making every effort to succeed on the field."

In an attempt to raise the club's profile and bring in extra cash, the club is hoping to arrange a friendly against a leading local professional side, organise a sportsman's dinner in the New Year as well as masterminding a sponsored cycle ride to the game at Hereford on February 9.