Determined to get reinstated, the pair set up a crowdfunding page and hired Gosschalks Solicitors to fight their case so that they could take their former bosses to an employment tribunal.

Their campaign has so far raised more than £6,000 and has been backed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who tweeted messages of support to the pair.

However, with their court date looming, the pair have issued a statement urging them to keep on donating so they can reach the sum of £20,000 and hire "the best barrister in the business."

The pair wrote: "We are now two months away from the hearing and the reality of our situation is beginning to hit home.

"We set a crowdfunding target of £20,000 to enable us to fight for justice and stands up to the people who put us in this awful position and to create a level playing field when we meet them in court - we have so far raised £6,170 of that target.

"Without crowdfunding we have no chance and would simply have to roll over and accept what they've done to us.

"We have now got to the point where have seen their defence and all the documents and we are now even more encouraged about our case, as are our legal team.

"All we want is for the Employment Tribunal to restore out reputations by telling the world that we were unfairly dismissed and that we did not deserve what is happening to us."

Addressing on their Crowd Justice page why they think they might have been sacked, they write, "The only rational explanation we can come up with is that it was to save money. The stadium and pitch is owned by the council and the SMC owners have already stated that they wouldn’t spend money on an asset they don’t own (i.e. is rented) when referring to a stadium expansion. If that is the case, and we are only surmising, we should have been made redundant but our length of service would have made that an expensive option. I don’t think they expected we could fight the sacking but we are doing because it is worth fighting for and with your help we can get justice."

They conclude by saying, "Thank you for reading and also for your kind support - it is very much appreciated at this time. If you could share a link to this page via your social media accounts we would be very grateful indeed!"