JASON MCGILL has said he is "taken aback" by comments from York City chairman Glen Henderson that the former owner removed "quite a lot of money" from the club before his July sale.

In a question-and-answer session with BBC Radio York, Henderson was critical of the club's past ownership, which changed hands from majority shareholder McGill (75 per cent stake) to Henderson (51 per cent) and the Supporters' Trust (49 per cent) four months ago.

Henderson claimed that McGill "removed quite a lot of money," from season-ticket and shirt sales, meaning that the new regime "started with a deficit straight away."

The South African-raised businessman went on to state that this season's budget, set by McGill, had been based on the club's past season in the Vanarama National League 10 years ago and that, as a result, himself and the Trust had invested hundreds of thousands of pounds "to steady the ship and get the income and expenses back on track.”

Henderson also dismissed a claim by the departing former ownership that 10-years worth of facility enhancement fee had been paid, saying that, having studied the books, "no money has changed hands."

McGill, who had been at the helm at City for 16 years, has said he is "taken aback" by these claims and defended his sale of the club as proper.

In a statement, McGill said: “I was asked by David Ward from BBC Radio York if I wished to respond to remarks made by Glen Henderson during his interview on Radio York on November 1.

"Having listened to the interview with Mr Henderson on Radio York, I was taken aback by his comments regarding the financial position of the club following the transfer of ownership in July 2022.

"All monies withdrawn were owed to J M Packaging Ltd and therefore properly returned to the company.

"All contracts relating to the club could have been examined and any questions forthcoming could have been explained by the outgoing directors through a due diligence process.

"I have gone on record to say that I felt my fellow directors and I left the club in a healthy position and that I would have funded the club for this season to ensure an organised transfer of ownership.

"I received a message of thanks from the chairman of the Supporters’ Trust for my time at the club and for the way I acted during the share transfer.

"I wish to extend my very best wishes to John Askey, Kingsley James and the team and to go on record to say what an excellent job John has done at York City Football Club since his appointment in November 2021.”

Earlier in the Q&A session with Radio York, Henderson lamented the financial running of the club under McGill.

He also moved to explain the new ownership's position when taking over City.

Henderson said: "What you have to remember is that when we bought the club, it was a very short straightforward takeover and there wasn’t much we could see.

"We took budgets that we thought were budgets and took a big leap of faith in doing this.

"These past couple of months have been a little insane but we’re getting to the crux of the problem. We know that a lot of things are not what they say they were.

“I came into this thinking it would be run well and be well-budgeted. But it turns out, we’ve had to start from scratch.

“We’re looking at where the expenses are and how we can increase the income. Our commercial team, the store, myself and Alastair (Smith, chief executive) are working day in and day out.

“We’re creating new relationships but we’re also rebuilding old ones.”