Contrary to reports yesterday, it appears that the administrator could well be ready to make a decision on who to sell the club to next week, perhaps as early as Wednesday.

Despite reports from the BBC that it could take weeks, administrator Nick Dargan said:

“A decision will be made very, very shortly. I have hopefully already made my decision.”

The Mercury today reported that yesterday, the consortium involving Gilbert Kinch and former City plc director Roy Parker received correspondence from Dargan asking for some aspects of their bid to be clarified.

After a conference involving consortium members, the information was presented to Dargan yesterday afternoon. A spokesman for the consortium welcomed a swift decision. He said:

“We believe we have put a substantial bid on the table considerably in excess of the figure the other consortium are reportedly tabling.

“We have based our bid on the current squad remaining for the rest of the season.

“If players key to the future of the club are sold that will have a material effect on the terms of our bid. We would welcome a decision in the next few days.”

The Mercury reported that members of the Lineker consortium, which also involves former City plc chairman Greg Clarke and former club chairman Martin George, were unavailable for comment.

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