Braintree chairman Lee Harding has told the local press that he believes that only Luton can afford to be a full time side in the Conference.
Harding says the Iron will not follow the string of part-timers to attempt a switch to full-time status in a bid to compete with their bigger rivals, telling the Essex Chronicle:
"We’ll stay part-time. There are far too many clubs in the Conference that are full-time and cannot afford to be.
"I think one of the reasons why we are competing is that we’ve got a number of very shrewd lads in the squad who have the ability to go full-time.
"Our captain Kenny Davis for example was given the opportunity to go full-time last summer, he weighed up the pros and cons of being part-time with Braintree and doing his day job or the money from being a full-time pro and also what happens after when he would finish being a full-time footballer.
"We’ve got a lot of very sensible players who know this is a good level to play at and they’re not putting all their eggs in one basket, they’re planning for their own futures.
"Personally, with the possible exception of Luton, I don’t think anyone in this division can afford to be full-time. Some of them are, but you look at the amount of money some of the companies are losing, some of them are losing hundreds of thousands if not millions – and we’re not going to operate like that."