The chairman of the the worst non-league side in England admits he fears for the club’s future.

St Francis Rangers are rooted to the bottom of the Southern Combination premier division after losing all 23 games they have played this season.

Their plight is put into even sharper focus by a goal difference which stands at minus 111 from 18 league games having conceded a staggering 112 and scored just once.

Add the 29 goals they have leaked in five cup matches it means Rangers are shipping almost seven goals every match at a rate of one ever 13 minutes.

That record is worse than any other club in the top nine tiers of English football and chairman John Goss admits there are few signs of light at the end of the tunnel.

Goss pondered pulling the club out of the league last month only to be dissuaded by the prospect of a £2,000 fine and is now desperately searching for a solution to improve Rangers’ fortunes.

He said: “Our manager from last year (Glenn Charker) decided to leave three weeks before the start of the season which left us without any players at all. Dave (Shearing) took over and did his best but as we don’t pay any money it was difficult for him to get players in.

“We had to field eight youth team players in our first game against Horsham YMCA and lost 8-0 and its been a similar story all season. Because we are doing so badly no one is coming to watch us which means we lose £200 every home game.

“I did go to the league and asked about pulling the team out but we can’t afford a £2,000 fine so we are having to put out a team every week and get on with it.

“It would be a real shame if the club folded as the youth set-up is absolutely thriving but things don’t look good at the moment. I am due to talk with one club from the Mid Sussex League who are interested in bringing their team to play at the ground next season so perhaps something will come from that.”

The current situation is a huge fall from grace for St Francis Rangers who have enjoyed almost consistent success since being formed by the amalgamation of St Francis and Ansty Rangers in 2002.

They won promotion from division three of the Sussex County League in 2004 and went up again three years later before establishing themselves as a mid-table team in division one.

Rangers finished 13th last year having come tenth and 11th in their two previous campaigns but the decline has been startling since Charker jumped ship in the summer.

Shearing resigned in October but agreed to carry on while the club looked for a new manager. Former Fulham striker Kai Bichard took over as player-boss last month but was then suspended for six matches for assaulting a referee.

Goss, who has confirmed he will step down after ten years as chairman at the end of the season, added: “It’s been one thing after another. You can’t fault the players as they never stop running but they are just not good enough. Even when we are losing 8-0 they don’t give up.

“We’ve used six different goalkeepers and I think they are probably all suffering with bad backs! It would be great if we could score a couple of goals. That would be worthy of a celebration and if we actually managed to pick up a point it would be amazing.

“Unless we get some more players in then I can’t see things getting any better on the pitch. Being the worst team in the country is not a nice thing but with the situation the way it is I’m not optimistic that it will improve.

“The club hasn’t looked back since 2002 so it is really sad that it has come to this but you have to keep smiling.”