YORK City boss Gary Mills is not praying for a relegation reprieve, but admits he would accept staying up at troubled Leyton Orient’s expense.

The East London club have been relegated to the National League amid financial turmoil that saw staff only receive their March wages last week.

A winding-up petition in the high court, meanwhile, was adjourned until June 12 after a £250,000 debt was settled but fans are still preparing for the worst, putting in place a fighting fund to use if owner Francesco Becchetti decides to sell up or the club go into administration

The last five minutes of the O’s final home game of the season – a 3-1 defeat to Colchester - were played out in an empty stadium on Saturday after a pitch invasion at Brisbane Road in protest against the Becchetti regime.

Tickets sales for this weekend’s trip to Blackpool have also been suspended amid fears of further trouble.

The National League have a ruthless reputation for refusing admission into their highest division for teams displaying financial instability which, in the past, has meant the club finishing fourth bottom – the position City have ended this season in – have managed to avoid the drop.

Mills is not one to clutch straws, but admitted he would not turn down the opportunity to stay up by any means if it became a possibility.

“If you’re going to finish in the bottom four, then to finish fourth-bottom, with the way football is these days financially, can get you a reprieve,” he reasoned. “I’m not praying or anything like that but, if it did happen, we’d take it.”