NORTHWICH Vics owner Mike Connett has denied he told staff the club was for sale and could close within weeks.
Yesterday, Mr Connett said a meeting had taken place, but categorically denied he told employees he was looking to sell up.
'The meeting was to do with club performance and football,' he said. 'There's no change. I still own the club.'
But stories coming out of the Victoria Stadium earlier this week suggested employees were told he was looking for a buyer - and that if one could not be found in five weeks the club might fold. A sum of £400,000 and an annual five-figure rent was mentioned.
Within hours of the meeting the story spread through the town and worried fans believed the end of Northwich Vics was imminent. Fans also aired their views strongly on the Vics Supporters' Trust website where, reportedly, Mr Connett's solicitors are studying some posts.
A source close to the Victoria Stadium told the Chronicle: 'He (Mr Connett) called a meeting and told everyone they would be out of work in five weeks unless he found a buyer.'
But on Friday Vics issued a statement saying the club was not up for sale and was not going into liquidation. Mr Connett repeated the assertion he was not selling in the Non League Paper on Sunday.
The Chronicle spoke to him on Monday when he said: 'There is nothing to discuss. We have made a statement and that's all there is to it. There is nothing urgent about it, people have taken things stupidly.'
The club has no assets because the Victoria Stadium and surrounding land at Wincham are owned by Mr Connett's Beaconet company.
The Vics Supporters Trust, set up during a financial crisis in the 1990s, had an emergency meeting on Friday because of the 'rumours' and issued a statement saying: 'We are relieved and reassured at Mr Connett's apparent commitment to the future (of Vics).'
But one former backer of Northwich Vics said: 'This has all made the club a laughing stock. It is very damaging. I'm afraid Vics are not worth the sums talked about.'
