ACCRINGTON Stanley have promised fans that they will pay off an outstanding tax bill after being given until Wednesday to prevent an auction of key assets.

CW Harrison and Son has been instructed by HM Revenue and Customs to advertise an auction to take place at Stanley’s Crown Ground on Wednesday, March 9 at 1pm.

Items announced for sale include 1,600 seats, two floodlights and pylons, boardroom furniture, three portable office storage units, public address equipment, the CCTV system, two televisions, 12 signed football shirts and walkie-talkies.

Stanley currently owe £9,000 of their £32,000 HMRC payment for month nine of the calendar year, which was due on January 22.

The club have released a statement insisting that the remaining money will be paid on Monday to prevent the auction from taking place.

The Reds would not be able to fulfil their fixtures if items such as floodlights and seats were auctioned off but chief executive Rob Heys said: “The bill will definitely be paid. The auction will not happen.

“It doesn't look good for the club for this to be made public and we would not want it to happen again.”

HMRC generally do not take action until tax payments are 28 days late, and announced the auction after some of the bill was still outstanding last Saturday. Stanley had been warned this would be the course of action.

It is not the first time Stanley have been late with payments, with the club narrowly avoiding winding up proceedings in November 2009 after paying off a bill of £308,000.

The Reds have been short of cash recently following the postponement of five home fixtures, while shirt sponsor Combined Stabilisation went into liquidation last week. Player wages were late this month, although they have now been paid in full.

An ownership struggle has also complicated matters, although it is understood that Eric Whalley could officially cut his ties with the club and relinquish his stake by agreeing a settlement before this afternoon’s home match against Torquay.

Mr Whalley, the club’s former chairman, still holds a major shareholding in Stanley but ended his day-to-day involvement with the club 19 months ago, with Dave O’Neill’s planned buy-out still waiting to be completed.

Multi-millionaire Ilyas Khan, currently Stanley’s non-executive chairman, is keen to issue new shares and hand over control of the club to the fans - also pledging to bankroll a new stadium.

Stanley have already used gate receipts from Tuesday’s home match with Crewe and extra money received from Scunthorpe for the sale of Bobby Grant to help pay their bills, and the revenue from today’s game will be used to meet the remaining £9,000 of their tax bill.

Auctioneers CW Harrison and Son said that firm plans for a sale of assets would only be put in place if Stanley’s tax bill was not paid by Wednesday, seven days before the auction.

The club hope to use Football League money received early next month to avoid a similar scenario happening with their next tax payment.

HMRC’s decision to plan an auction has surprised some, with winding up proceedings a more frequent choice in football, but it is understood that this course of action is not uncommon.

“They will deal with a football club like a haulier down the road, they will say you owe us and will look at ways of recovering that money,” said VAT consultant John Crawford, an expert in the field.

Jimmy Bell, assistant to Stanley manager John Coleman, said that on the playing side the club’s sole focus was on today’s game against Torquay.