COUGARS face a new crisis after owner Hami Patel cut their cash lifeline -- and ordered the club to stand alone.

The man who saved the club in January 1998 has ploughed over £700,000 into the Cougars in just over three years and this week he told KN Sport: "Enough is enough -- I need to make some money."

Hami was introduced to club when the Cougars were in Administration after running up huge debts as they pushed for a place in the top flight. Since then he has been making sure the monthly bills were paid, but costs have continued to escalate.

This week he said: "Since I became involved the club has been cleaned up and all the proper controls are in place.

"I wanted a chief executive or a Managing Director who could run it as a business and encourage other investment and partnerships.

"Sadly that has not worked out.

"Frankly I am disappointed that no other businesses have had the same commitment - apart from an exceptional few.

"I have now spent £700,000 of my own money and I regret to say enough is enough."

He added: "I am no longer focussed on the Cougars. As much as I would like to be a philanthropist and devote my life to the Cougars I can't, I need to make some money.

"It has been costing me about £250,000 a year.

"Now the situation is this. the players wages have been paid for this month, I don't know what is going to happen next month."

Former director Mike Smith returned from spending the winter near Marbella in Spain and has been working at the club.

Mr Patel said: "Mike Smith is back on the scene in this way, he offered to help out - unpaid - to look at marketing and ideas for the future. He asked for two weeks to look at the situation and he is doing just that.

"It may well be that when he reports back we have some hard decisions to make," he said.

After last week's game against Chorley Ian Hughes - winner of the champagne moment - told fans that players would not be turning out for this Sunday's game against Bolton, but yesterday the club insisted that the players would be paid as planned this weekend.

"There is no reason for them not to play, their contracts have been honoured to the present time, but they have been told that there may have to be alterations in their terms in the light of the present situation," said general manager Gary Murgatroyd.

A meeting with the players was held last Thursday evening when the situation was outlined.

"One or two were not happy and I understand some have been talking to other clubs, but there is a new realism in the NFP and clubs cannot continue to pay the wages which have been demanded in the past," Gary Murgatroyd said.

Steve Deakin insisted he expected his players to turn up for Sunday's game, which starts at 5pm to allow fans to get back from the Challenge Cup Final at Twikenham.

Steve Deakin said: "The players have shown an outstanding attitude and no contracts have been broken at this time. I can't control what is happening off the field, but I am just hoping that we can get through the next few days and weeks."