IT is unlikely Worcester City have ever faced a more critical time than the present.

The perilous state of the club’s finances is nothing new but in less than a month that situation will take on a whole new look.

For, at the end of December, the Blue Square South club will be completely at the mercy of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Time is no longer on City’s side.

The bank’s deadline for repayment of a debt of around £1.55 million in full passes once the curtain comes down on 2009.

Conceivably, City could be out of business with Auld Lang Syne still ringing in their ears. There would be nothing to stop the bank pulling the plug and calling in their debt at the start of January. No-one would blame them either, it’s not as if City were not aware of this looming milestone.

In reality, of course, that won’t happen. According to chairman Anthony Hampson, RBS have agreed to wait until Careys New Homes’ planning application is heard, hoped to be February, before making any demands.

RBS see Careys as the best way of getting their money back so it is not particularly surprising that they’re holding fire.

If Careys get the green light from planners, they will stump up the cash to pay off the bank and City will have whatever is left to try and build a new stadium.

So what happens if Careys get rejected? It is an outcome that cannot be ruled out. After all, chairman Hampson has already said the Wembley-based property developer has been asked to revise their plans to build on St George’s Lane.

The answer seems simple enough — City will go bust. That’s not doom-mongering, that’s the cold, hard truth. The bank will want their money, and with no sign of payment in the offing, would sell the Lane from underneath City’s feet to recoup it.

The situation needs to be resolved quickly, too, because City will be liable for interest payments on an £800,000 loan, which forms part of the debt, from January. That won’t be cheap — indeed, per month, it could equate to the same as the weekly playing budget.

City may have been given breathing space, or a stay of execution — call it what you will — by their bank manager but they have to account for this extra payment somehow.

Which is why the home games against Grays Athletic in the FA Trophy and the Boxing Day visit of Newport County in Blue Square South are so vital. City need the money from those fixtures to pay this interest, let alone keep going on a daily basis.

There is £5,000 on the line for victory against Grays this Saturday and that would do nicely for starters.

Newport is even bigger. With 650 tickets already sold to the South Wales club, and more supporters likely to turn up on spec to follow the current league leaders, there is every chance City will get the thick end of 1,500 fans through the gate. That represents money City cannot afford to be without.

Fans suggested at last month’s forum that precautions should be taken to protect the pitch from the elements over Christmas. I’d say that was paramount.

Whatever happens, these are defining moments in the history of Worcester City. How much more of that history there is to be written will become clear very soon.