Derry City are well on their way to securing their financial future - but they have upset some of their most loyal fans in the process.

The recent game against Glasgow Celtic raised around £70,000 and went a long way towards paying the club's outstanding tax bill.

The problem is that the Brandywell's capacity is only 8,000 - and the club could have sold three times that many tickets for the Celtic game. The same applies to next month's friendly against Manchester United.

But Derry came up with a way of maximising the return by selling tickets for the Celtic game inside the Brandywell ground during Eircom matches. That ensured bumper gates for the Bohemians and St. Patrick's Athletic games and an extra cash bonanza.

The same thing happened when Derry sold tickets for the Manchester United friendly at last week's Galway United home match. Over 4,000 Derry fans paid to get in - and they snapped up the United tickets within minutes. One stile sold £6,000 worth in the first ten minutes.

Unfortunately, many of the club's hardcore fans were beaten in the rush and didn't manage to get their hands on tickets for the United game.

Season ticket holders will get another chance - but not all regular fans hold season tickets. Furthermore, season ticket holders will get the right to purchase just one ticket each for the United game - whereas those who hit the turnstiles early on Sunday were able to fill their boots!