The Rhodes family is ready to plunge another £1.5 million into Bradford City to ensure the football club can survive the season, it emerged today.

But chief executive Julian Rhodes warned he would only gamble the family's savings if a deal could be met with one of the club's biggest creditors.

And he said the club was drawing up a new plan which is expected to see a raft of spending cuts in the coming months.

Mr Rhodes revealed the £1.5 million would be necessary just to keep the club afloat until August after a call for help to Bradford businesses fell on deaf ears.

But he stressed the family - joint owners of the club along with Flamingo Land boss Gordon Gibb - could not bankroll it forever.

Yesterday he and Mr Gibb held talks with insurance giant Gerling, the company that financed City's spending in the Premier League and which is owed about £1.3 million.

With falling revenue from sponsorship and a slump in crowds, the club fears it will not be able to meet its next payment of £750,000 which is due in August.

It is already £500,000 down on budget for the season.

Mr Rhodes said talks in London yesterday were "constructive" and the club will now put a written proposal to Gerling about how the debt can be restructured.

He said his family - including his father Professor David Rhodes, chairman of hi-tech firm Filtronic - would only provide the extra funds if the deal was accepted.

They have already ploughed millions into City alongside Mr Gibb, who bought the Bradford & Bingley Stadium to ease a cash-flow crisis on the eve of the season.

"Somebody has got to keep the club going and this money will see us through the season, but we are not prepared to put it straight into a black hole," he said.

"We are also drawing up a very thorough business plan to ensure that we are getting the most out of the business.

"A lot of complacency built up in our cost base during the Premier League years and we will be analysing every aspect of the business."

Mr Rhodes and Mr Gibb were today due to meet business leaders who responded to an invitation to sign up as sponsors. But only Bradford Council was expected to attend with other organisations either not replying or saying they were too busy. Mr Rhodes said the club, which lies one place off the bottom of division one ahead of tomorrow's crunch clash at Wimbledon, was "disappointed but not surprised" by the reaction.