BARNET Football Club is set to leave Underhill - its home of 104 years.

Citing circumstances beyond his control chairman Tony Kleanthous broke the news to supporters via the club's website on Wednesday afternoon.

The League Two side has been involved in a long-running dispute with Barnet Council over the future of Underhill.

Mr Kleanthous is also angry with the council for seemingly paving the way for Premiership rugby side Saracens to relocate to Barnet Copthall.

Barnet FC has written to the Football League asking if it can kick the 2012/13 season off at Underhill even though it cannot guarantee it will have a licence to operate the stadium in 2013.

This is because of a long standing issue surrounding the lease of a neighbouring cricket club, which expires in December 2012, and provides fans with access to the southern side of Underhill. Without a lease supporters will be unable to access that part of the stadium.

As a result the Football League has indicated it would prefer Barnet to start next season with a contingency plan in place to complete the remainder of the 2012/13 season elsewhere.

Mr Kleanthous, who also revealed the club had spent £2 million improving Underhill in recent years, said: "Our intention has also been to stay at Underhill but we are now more focused on our future location rather than the same old discussions with the council which lead nowhere."

The council had suggested Barnet FC stopped using the southern area of the stadium playing games with a reduced capacity of just over 5,000 with 1,300 seated fans - below Football League criteria. This plan also included relocating the club's offices and the removal of spectator toilets.

Mr Kleanthous added: "Barnet Council seems to want us to rip everything up and go back to the cloth cap days of cramming people in and letting them use the wall as a toilet.

"It really is an embarrassing state of affairs and I cannot allow our faithful supporters to endure anymore humiliating taunts and jokes from our rivals. It's time we looked to our future and how we can achieve a final solution to our ground problems because the foundations are in place of us to grow.

"This council will never know what it had until it has lost it."

Bees fans what do you think? Is the club right to quit Underhill? Could Barnet Council have done more? Tell us your thoughts below.