DOVER Athletic bid farewell to the Nationwide Conference at Yeovil on Saturday with the club's boardroom and financial structure still waiting to be sorted out.

Little has happened over the past week because former chairman John Husk who, along who his brother Alan effectively still controls the club, has been away on holiday.

Another former chairman, Gordon Cowan, is chief spokesman for the seven-strong consortium of himself, three businessmen and three representatives from the Supporters Trust who want to take over the club. But Cowan sounded less upbeat about the consortium’s chances of success this week, saying he rated them as “50-50 at best”.

Cowan says he has written to John Husk three times and is waiting for a reply. “The bottom line is that John and Alan Husk will make the decision,” explained Cowan. “I have asked John Husk, ‘Can you give us some sign of intent?’ We should know later this week. We need to get on and talk to Clive Walker, and start finding a main sponsor.”

“We want to give Dover Athletic stability and run it for the good of the town and the club," added Cowan. “Our aims are identified in the business plan and I believe it will be a sad day if we don't succeed.”

Whites’ current chairman Jim Pellatt agreed that the boardroom situation had changed little over the past week. And he confirmed he was still unable to guarantee that four players on 52-week contracts would be paid throughout the close season. Team captain Keith Scott, one of the four affected along with Matt Carruthers, Darren Davies and Kevin Seabury, revealed his unease with the situation in last week's Dover Mercury.

Pellatt said: “I couldn't use the word guarantee but I'm very conscious that players have mortgages and families. If we were to make guarantees we couldn't keep, we as a club could get the reputation for not sticking to agreements. The club is still overstretched financially and sometimes you have to make decisions to protect the whole.”

“I must emphasise that we agree a budget with Clive Walker and what he does within that budget is up to him,” added Pellatt, who also quashed speculation that the so-called “Asian consortium” were poised to make another attempt to take over the club.

For all the upheaval that Whites have endured this season, the club essentially still remains financially dependent on one man: vice-chairman Jim Gleeson. It is a situation which needs to be resolved as soon as possible to facilitate a creditable promotion challenge next season.