CHERRIES chairman Eddie Mitchell revealed the club is this week set to clear its legacy debt to HM Revenue and Customs – and then stated his intention to avoid a repeat of the saga.

Dean Court chief Mitchell yesterday confirmed that an £80,000 payment had been made to the Revenue, with about £70,000 set to follow by Friday.

The news will come as a major boost to the club’s fans, with Cherries due in court on November 16 for D-day on a winding-up petition brought by HMRC over unpaid taxes of around £400,000.

Having steadily eaten into that sum since taking control of the League Two outfit, Mitchell said the club was now preparing to wipe out the remainder of what it owes to the tax man.

Speaking to the Echo last night, Mitchell said: “Eighty thousand pounds has been paid and the rest will be cleared by Friday, which I think is £70,000.

“It will be paid through hard work – not through loans or anything else. It is hard work which usually does it.”

Cherries saw an attempt to make a payment to HMRC blocked last month, with the club’s bank account frozen after the Revenue was obligated to re-publish details of the winding-up petition in the London Gazette in September.

Mitchell, who revealed that about £15,000 had been spent on unfreezing the account, is desperate to ensure the club does not find itself in such a problematic position again.

He said: “We’re going to work very hard not to get back into this situation.

“It is not, at this moment in time, the easiest finances to run in the world, but it’s something which we can gradually nibble away at, which we are doing, until we are on a proper wicket, so to speak, in business.

“We’re always going to have creditors and debtors, but we want less of one and more of the other.”

Having taken control of the club during the summer, Mitchell has been extremely impressed by the workforce, both on and off the pitch.

Full of praise for the Dean Court employees, he feels the only way is up.

“It’s down to hard work, not just by the board, but from the restaurant, the guy in the kitchen, the sales people and everyone in the offices,” said Mitchell.

“It is also from hard work from Eddie (Howe), Jason (Tindall) and all the lads.

“The whole thing is going really, really well and we’re all wanting to go in the right direction. It takes people at the top to steer it in that direction and I think the club has lacked that for a long time. We’re going one way – and that’s an improving direction.”

Mitchell has overseen the club bringing some of its operations back ‘in-house’, while three new full-time members of staff have been recruited.

With things appearing to move in the right direction off the field, the work of Howe and his team has certainly not gone unnoticed.

Cherries’ latest success was in the FA Cup on Saturday and Mitchell is delighted at the money this brings.

“It’s a welcome bonus,” he said. “We don’t budget for it but we recognise it if we win, and the importance of getting a home game and a good side to play against.

“I’m pleased we’ve got a side on a par with us (Notts County) in the next round.

“I think it will make for a good day at the club and it’s a winnable game for us, which would put us in with the big boys then.”

Asked if he had a further message, Mitchell said: “I’d just like to add that I’m gobsmacked with the amount of support the club has got. It’s fantastic.”

Head of youth Joe Roach picked out Dan Strugnell and Tom Strong for praise after Cherries’ youth team were defeated 2-0 by Brighton in the Alliance Cup on Saturday.

Cherries: Murphy, Annetts, Holmes, Strugnell, Oldring, Magookin (Burbidge, 72), Hill (Bell, 64), Hester (Parsons, 55), Vokes, Stockley, Strong.

Meanwhile, Cherries will travel to AFC Wimbledon on November 21 in the FA Youth Cup second round.