SWINDON Town fans are hoping a day of protest tomorrow will help highlight clubs on the brink of financial ruin.

Organisers hope the demo, at a match between Wrexham and Doncaster Rovers, will attract more than 10,000 protesters countrywide.

The Clubs in Crisis day was organised by Fans United and is expected to be their biggest event.

Earlier this week, Customs and Excise issued Swindon Town with a winding-up petition which threatened the club's future.

But thanks to a cash injection from the Wills family and property giants St Modwen, the club is able to pay the six-figure VAT bill.

It was not the first time Town had faced financial ruin and Paul Davis, of TrustSTFC, the club's supporters' trust, hopes tomorrow's protest will help stop fat cats swallowing all the money in the game.

"Small clubs are increasingly being run by fans and clubs are going back to the grass roots of the community they serve," he said.

"The whole of the football world is horrified with what happened to Wrexham.

"A huge amount of the money in football is in the top flight and in my mind the FA and the Football League have to take a very hard look at trying to resolve this."

More than 70 clubs have advertised the protest event on their websites and match day programmes.

Swindon campaigner Andy Newman said many fans blame the monopoly of TV coverage by Sky Sports that sees nearly all the money going to the Premiership.

He hopes thousands of supporters will respond to calls to end their Sky subscription on April 1 to register their protest.

"It's time for the fans to assert themselves and make the fat cats take note," he said.

Swindon Town director Bob Holt said: "The grass roots need looking after because smaller clubs are running out of money," he said.

Two months ago more than 10,000 fans gathered at Wrexham to draw attention to the League One Club's plight.

The 132-year-old club is in financial administration, was docked 10 points by the Football League and faces eviction from its Mold Road ground on July 21.

Ben Payne