EXCLUSIVE
by Hayley Robinson

The future of Sittingbourne FC could be secured in the next week.

Talks are ongoing between chairman Andy Spice and former West Ham and Crystal Palace football star, Michael Hughes.

Mr Hughes approached the club last month with a proposal to take over.

A spokesman for the Northern Ireland international said: "There is an offer on the table to help take the club forward.

"We want to supplement what has already been achieved by Andy Spice and the current club directors and members who have given a considerable amount of time and money to the football club.

"With their continued input we are offering to come into the club and help out financially but more importantly to commit time, something due to his business commitments, Andy can no longer do.

"We hope to have something wrapped by the end of next week."

Last February, the Sittingbourne Messenger revealed how the club, based at Central Park on the Eurolink industrial estate, was struggling to make ends meet due to dwindling crowd numbers and rising costs.

Mr Spice, owner of BW May builders in Sittingbourne, has invested thousands of pounds over the years to keep the club afloat but secretary John Pitts said it needed to stand on its own two feet.

At the time, he appealed to fans to support the club or face losing it forever.

He also said he believed it could only survive if a multi-millionaire stepped in as chairman and pumped money into it.

Things took a turn for the worse when in January manager Gary Abbott and his squad were told the club could no longer afford to pay them as it tried to wipe out its £20,000 debt.

Despite this, nobody left.

Mr Spice said: "We are negotiating with Michael Hughes at the moment and we are hoping something comes out of it.

"I feel confident it will go ahead and we will be pleased if it does.

"As a former international footballer, Michael knows the game inside out and I am sure he would bring a lot to the club."

He added that he was optimistic the proposed takeover could be completed by the end of next week.

If so, he would be on hand to help the owners out for as long as necessary.