EVERTON have reacted angrily after the contents of a meeting between chairman Bill Kenwright and a supporters’ union were made public.

Speaking to fans group the Blue Union, Kenwright laid bare Everton’s stark financial situation and admitted the only way the club can generate any significant income is by selling players.

The Goodison chairman also explained the club’s inactivity during the transfer window and underlined the difficulty in attracting new investment.

However, Everton insist the discussions were taped without Kenwright’s knowledge and do not believe the transcript is a fair and accurate representation of the conversation.

A club statement last night said: “It must be pointed out that, after agreeing at the start of the meeting that there would be no note taking, the members of the Blue Union secretly taped the entire conversation.

“Bill Kenwright spent three and a half hours of his day with them, but they saw fit to treat both him and the football club with a total lack of respect.

“We accept that they neither speak for nor are representative of the vast majority of Everton supporters.”

The meeting with the supporters group, which was held in London and attended by three Blue Union representatives, painted an alarming financial picture for the club unless new investment is found.

While Everton will not be taking any legal action, they consulted their solicitors such was their fury at what they regard as an act of subterfuge.

Former Liverpool city council leader Derek Hatton, who, along with Everton chief executive Robert Elstone, helped organise the meeting, was also unhappy with the Blue Union, and tweeted last night: “taping meeting without anyone knowing is disgraceful and underhanded”.

The contents of the wide-ranging discussion threaten to overshadow Everton’s belated start to the Premier League season at home to Queens Park Rangers tomorrow.

In the transcript, Kenwright

– reveals Everton came close to being sold to a man living in a one-bedroom flat

– admits the club dare not cash in on their key quartet of assets, named as Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Marouane Fellaini and Tim Howard

– dismissed suggestions of appointing an interim board with the sole purpose of finding a buyer

– suggested Liverpool principal owner John Henry would be willing to discuss a possible ground share.

In a separate interview for television, Kenwright admits Everton, who recorded a £44.9million debt in their last set of accounts in February, are unable to borrow any more money from their banks.

But it is the alleged content of the meeting with the supporters’ group that has caused the greater embarrassment for the club and cause for alarm among fans.

It is claimed football financier Keith Harris came close to selling the club to a hedge fund run by two men claiming to be head of ICI in the Far East and an inventor. But after due diligence was completed, it transpired one lived in a one-bedroom flat while the other was based in manchester.