The news that the millionaire Irish businessman is willing to clear a debt of the football club is the clearest sign yet that a conclusion to the takeover saga is now imminent. Courtenay said he was very hopeful that the deal could be finally concluded within a few days. The development comes after a weekend of upheaval and rumour which saw manager Roddy Collins threaten to quit if the loan wasn't repaid immediately and progress wasn't made on the issue of the takeover. It is understood the club have already partially repaid the loan and the remainder will be cleared by Courtenay today. The outspoken Irish boss met Michael Knighton on Saturday morning to get assurances that the loan would be repaid and the deal was going through. He later met his players at Lincoln and informed them that everything was back on track. Collins will be boosted by the repayment of the loan which means he can now go out and sign players. He has already got an agreement to sign the Bohemians pair of Trevor Molloy and Brian Shelley in time for next season and was tying up the final paperwork in Dublin yesterday. More immediately he hopes to sign players tomorrow as soon as the PFA loan is cleared and the transfer embargo under which he has been operating since last October is lifted. The transfer deadline falls on March 28 and Collins will be keen to strengthen his squad before that date. He was originally hoping to have a couple of players signed in time for tonight's clash with the Shrimpers. United have two players out suspended in Richie Foran and Steve Soley. They will be boosted by the return of skipper Stuart Whitehead who was banned on Saturday. Picture from News & Star www.newsandstar.co.uk |
