WEYMOUTH Football Club chairman Malcolm Curtis says figures showing the Terras recorded a profit during the last financial year are misleading.

The club's annual accounts show a £1.1million profit for the year ending May 31, 2007 - compared to a £1.2million loss a year before.

But Mr Curtis says it is a false picture created by former chairman Martyn Harrison writing off more than £2.6million in loans.

He believes the club lost around £750,000 during that period and warned things will not improve if the Terras remain at the Wessex Stadium.

He said: "When you read into the accounts, there was no profit.

"The club was trading at a significant loss.

"Martyn wrote off loans of more than £2.6million, which creates this picture that we made £1.1million.

"We certainly didn't. The actual loss would've been between £500,000 and £750,000."

Property developer Malcolm Curtis said good progress' has been made to address the deficit since he took the reigns in October 2007.

But he warned there is a long way to go' and that the current financial climate could make the task harder.

"When people are tightening their belts the first things to go are leisure activities.

"Football sits squarely within that.

"You're going to put food on the table rather than go to a match, have two pints and buy a programme.

"Businesses who were getting involved with the club a year ago are holding back now.

"These aren't political decisions. They're for genuine financial reasons.

"It's a difficult time and the club's experiencing it like everyone else."

The annual figures, released ahead of the club's annual meeting on October 15, show the wage bill fell from £1.2million in 2006 to £827,000 in 2007.

Mr Curtis said the job of balancing the books and producing performances on the field was as tough as ever.

He said: "Obviously these accounts are from before my time but I understand how difficult it is.

"I'm not criticising Martyn or anyone else. It's almost an impossible job to get that balance.

"If you were running any other business in the current climate you'd just cut your overheads.

"But our biggest overheads are on two legs and if you cut them it impacts on performances, which affects all other revenue sources."

Mr Curtis said the Terras would never be able to sustain Conference football until they move away from the Wessex Stadium.

He added: "The new ground is the holy grail.

"We need a year-round income.

"Additional revenue from moving to the rugby club site would be somewhere between £250,000 and £500,000.

"That's just the add-ons from hospitality, five-a-side pitches and so on.

"That sort of revenue would go a long way towards making the club sustainable and competitive at this level.

"You cannot sustain Confer-ence football on 90 minutes of entertainment a week."