Chairman Andrew Jenkins has denied that he and his fellow directors are “running Carlisle United down” towards a future in non-league.

The veteran Blues co-owner used his latest programme notes to respond to recent criticism of United’s struggles.

Jenkins said he had been “told” of accusations that the Brunton Park board “are running the club down so that it ends up in the National League”.

“This could not be further from the truth,” he said, “as over the last five years a few million pounds have been put into the club, not only to help managers in their quest to succeed, but also to keep the club in business.

“I assure supporters any financial decisions taken are made in an effort to keep professional football in the city at the highest possible level, and not for us to end up like Bury.”

Jenkins’ comments came after recent United games saw criticism from fans towards the Brunton Park hierarchy.

The end of the Northampton home game saw exchanges between supporters and directors.

Jenkins said he had no problem with fans venting their anger but asked them to tone down swearing.

“All I would ask is that fans think about the type of language used as there are often small children at the game, particularly in the seated areas, and bad language is not nice for them to hear,” he said.

“We want to encourage families to come to Brunton Park.”

United, meanwhile, say repairs to the A Stand roof are aimed to be completed in time for the visit of Bradford City on Boxing Day. The original roof covering has now been removed.

Jenkins said they had been left with a “mammoth cleaning task” on top of the repair work because of pigeons “which have inhabited the stadium for many years”.