Leopards general manager Dave Ryan has appealed for more support for the club as they face one of their most important games of the season.

The Big Cats can take an outright lead at the top of the EBL Division One if they defeat Derby Trailblazers at Wodson Park on Saturday evening, and Ryan is hoping that the fans will turn out in force for the game.

“When we returned to Wodson Park just over a year ago we were getting really good crowds” said Ryan, “But this season the gates have been very disappointing.

“We’re not even covering the costs of staging the games, and there are a lot of other expenses associated with running a club at this level.

“We’ve got an exciting young team, we’re doing better than last year despite the absence of so-called star players, and we’re playing some good basketball. It’s hard to work out why the crowds have dropped so much.”

Ryan did warn that unless the crowds improve during the second half of the season, the future of the club at Wodson Park is in doubt:

“We can’t continue like this in the long-run. Financially it’s impossible, and it’s a bit soul destroying to be playing in front of small crowds. There’s no back-up plan, and we’re not looking for an excuse to leave Ware, but we do need to increase our gates.”

The Big Cats have announced that they have slashed admission prices by around 35% for Saturday’s game, with adult tickets cut to £5.00 and children to £3.00.

“We know money’s tight after Christmas, and we hope that this persuades people to come and support us on Saturday” said Ryan.

Leopards will face a Derby side who are laying mid-table in the Division One table, but have strengthened their squad this week with a addition of American forward Rob Stockwell and Ben Middleton who have both joined from National Cup semi-finalists Mansfield Stars who collapsed over the Christmas period.

Saturday’s action at Wodson Park starts at 7.30pm, with tickets available on the door.