Carlisle United forked out £225,000 MORE on player and coaches’ wages despite their slump into League Two last year.

That is among the stark figures from the Blues’ latest accounts, which reveal the cost of their recent struggles.

While United have reported a pre-tax profit of £432,490 – thanks to former owner Fred Story writing off a £1.1million loan – the Cumbrians suffered a trading loss of £655,596 for 2014/15.

That included a plummet in income by nearly £500,000, and increased spending on the team as the club battled to stay in League One.

The doomed bid to survive proved costly, with the extra £225,000 in wages including pay-offs for former manager Graham Kavanagh and assistant Davie Irons.

The Brunton Park club saw gate receipts, prize money, commercial income and player sale income all down from the previous campaign. Non-playing wages were reduced, but the club spent more on agents’ fees.

Finance director Suzanne Kidd insisted that Story’s gesture last December was a key factor in enabling the club to move away from financial difficulties.

She said: “The write-off of the Story Homes loan has turned the accounts around and cleared the way for investment in the club, which we are pursuing both locally and internationally.

“A trading loss had been anticipated following relegation and the financial penalties that brings, plus poor cup results and the cost of a change in management, but the board has continued to support the new manager in rebuilding the squad.

“And we are taking action to address all the issues that resulted in the trading loss.”

While this season has seen the club receive several windfalls through the September Capital One Cup tie at Liverpool and the sales of Brad Potts and Kyle Dempsey, the figures are much less healthy for 2014/15.

Relegation in 2013/14 saw the club receive £362,000 less from the Football League and Premier League. Total income dropped by £490,000 to £3.06 million, while

United reduced their total expenditure by £190,000 to £3.72 million.

United’s prize money and gate receipts from cup competitions slumped from £184,000 to £33,000.

Commercial income fell by £43,000, and income from player sales was down by £55,000.

Non-playing wages dropped by £70,000, but United’s payments to agents rose from £15,000 to £32,000.

Carlisle say next summer’s accounts will include a £93,000 bill for corporation tax on the Story Homes loan, which had been reduced from £1.7m to £1.1m via re-payments and sponsorship deals over several years.

The next set of accounts in 2016 will also include the first payments from Potts’ and Dempsey’s moves to Blackpool and Huddersfield respectively.

Despite United’s struggles, crowds were up from 4,243 in League One in 2013/14 to 4,375 in League Two last season.

Kidd added: “We have appointed a sales and marketing director [Phil King] and commercial income is growing, while results on the pitch have improved in both the league and cup competitions.

“We have made a substantial profit in the first quarter of the current financial year, buoyed by the Liverpool cup tie and player sales, which will produce further payments in the future.”

Manager Keith Curle is likely to make changes for tonight’s trip to Luton.

The home side are without striker Paul Benson, who is suspended, while Macaulay Gillesphey remains out for the ninth-placed Blues.

Curle said: “Luton will be slightly different [to Portsmouth] – slightly more direct.

“People say ‘just focus on yourself’, but I slightly disagree. We need to make the players aware of the strengths of the opposition.”