Lee Carter debating the future of AFC Telford

The club, which was formed out of the ashes of Telford United in 2004, saw their first run in the Conference Premier end in relegation in 2013.

And the current team, who lost 2-0 to Lincoln on Saturday, are eight points from safety at the foot of the table just 16 games into their second stint there.

The part-time Bucks are one of very few fan-owned clubs operating in this country and they are running with one of the smallest playing budgets, in a league dominated by bigger full-time sides.

And Carter took to Twitter on Saturday night to suggest it could be time for a change of ownership model to make the team more competitive at this level.

He wrote: "It's time for a big heart 2 heart about our future. We've got a vision but perhaps need a different way of delivering it."

And he has since told the Shropshire Star: "Ultimately, I feel that it is absolutely the right time now to revisit what we are about as a club.

"We made commitments to the fans 10 years ago to run it on a sustainable basis, fan involvement being at the heart of everything we do.

"But it also may be time, as part of that debate, to consider other options – not totally relinquishing fan ownership but saying 'are there other options, other models elsewhere we should be considering?'

He also added that changing the manager was unlikely to remedy the situation in the long term saying: "I don't think it is the old cynical football case of 'let's sack the manager.'

"You can guarantee that a new guy might win a couple of games but, before too long, he will get into the same pattern."