CHIEF executive Jon Flatman says Barnsley’s owners are ‘completely committed to this organisation’ but admits ‘conversations would be entertained’ with anyone looking to buy a stake in the club.

Chairman Neerav Parekh is the majority owner with the ownership group also comprising Jean and James Cryne, the family of late former owner Patrick Cryne, plus Australian businesswoman Julie Ann Quay and her husband Matthew Edmonds.

The Reds have finished in consecutive lower places in the EFL for five consecutive seasons with the owners putting in several million every season for years.

Asked if the club was up for sale, Flatman told the Chronicle: “I can’t really comment on that but I can say that the owners genuinely want what’s best for the club.

“If there are people out there who decide that Barnsley Football Club’s the club for them, then I’m sure those conversations will be entertained.

“But right here, right now, they’re just focused on what we’re doing to make this club better next year and better the year after.”

There have been protests from sections of the fanbase, with up to 100 tennis balls being thrown onto the pitch during a game against Exeter in March along with regular chants against the ownership group.

Flatman said: “I think everyone’s got a right to protest.

“It is always important as well with a right to protest to know what the solution is. And I think the frustrations that everybody has sometimes boil over.

“You’ve seen it in tennis balls. You’ve seen it in chanting.

“But the reality of the club is that the owners are completely committed to this organisation right now. Long may that be the case until they decide they’re not.

“We’ve got to cut through our frustrations around what’s happened on the field and try and turn that around.

“I think fans know we’re not going to win every week, but no team is.

“But what they can get behind is the energy and the enthusiasm and the passion for the club. And that’s what we all want back.”

Barnsley are hoping to follow the example of Lincoln City who had a moderate budget but won the League One title this year.

Flatman said: “You’ve seen a great example of what a disciplined organisation can achieve in terms of Lincoln.

“It’s very close. That was a disciplined and controlled spend in the right places with a focus and a name.

“I think what we’ve got now is a really clear focus on what we’re recruiting.

“We’ve got real clear objectives off the field in terms of delivering that revenue to allow us to spend on SCMP (Salary Cap Management Protocol).

“And we’ve got a real opportunity now to have a go.

“I think it’s the effort, the enthusiasm, and the passion that are something that doesn’t rely on skill.”

Many clubs across the division are expected to reduce their budgets for next summer.

On the size of Barnsley’s budget, Flatman said: “I think I’ve come out and said that the commitment to the club from the ownership is quite clearly there.

“What there is also a commitment to do is to ensure that we don’t continue to go on this path of two million, three million, four million, five million, six million, seven million pound losses.

“Because I think ultimately, that’s only going to go one way. Now, that might be alright now on this watch, but it doesn’t do much for the next one.

“We’ve got to be in an organisation where we’re growing our revenues.

“It’s not a lack of ambition. It’s just being disciplined with our finances to make sure that there is a club for sons and daughters and grandsons and granddaughters and to watch in the future.

“And we’ve seen in this league and in other leagues, above and below, that it’s very easy to get into financial trouble very, very quickly.”

The Reds have received money from the January sale of Davis Keillor-Dunn, the FA Cup game at Liverpool and a windfall from former captain Liam Kitching being promoted to the Premier League with Coventry.

Flatman said: “Those things mean there’s a reduction in losses down to a level that is more manageable. And I think that allows us to move forward and budget our expenditure in a stronger way. This is genuinely about being smart with the money as opposed to throwing it willy-nilly.”

There have been new rules introduced to reduce the amount of revenue and owner investment that can be spent on wages.

“We’re in a strong position because our revenue, versus the rest of the league, is in a good position. But above all of that, you can still spend 50 per cent of the owner-invested equity. The new rules are aimed to reduce the amount of owner input across the league.

“The challenge for this club and the challenge for every club is that it costs an awful lot of money to run a third-tier League One football club in the UK.

“The owners across the league have decided that they want to reduce their losses, which they have every right, of course, to do. Now, if everybody does that at the same time, status quo.

“All we know is we need to recruit well. When we are talking about recruiting younger players, which we’ve talked about last summer, and we talked about in January, we’ve got to do more of that this summer.

“Patrick Kelly and Reyes Cleary are a fantastic example of what you can do when you recruit the youngsters and when you give your youngsters a chance.

“I don’t see a dip in that. What I see is a challenge across the league for those players who are moving clubs, their wage requests probably won’t be as well-received as previously.

“We will be competitive in League One this year.”