Clydebank banking on survival

Hope emerges for the Bankies' plight after talks

Clydebank consultant Tony Fitzpatrick hopes the Second Division side have won their battle for survival.

The club looked set to fold when it appeared an agreement could not be reached between buyer David McGhie and current owner John Hall.

That left administrator Brian Jackson considering resignation from his post, which would effectively mean the end of the club and expulsion from the Scottish Football League.

McGhie is at the head of a consortium aiming to invest in the Bankies and has spent months trying to agree terms with Hall and former owner Jack Steedman.

Showdown

Now last-minute showdown talks between McGhie and Hall have resulted in an agreement that is believed will cost the new owners around £225,000.

And Fitzpatrick hopes the deal - which is expected to be completed within the next couple of days - will signal better times ahead and an eventual return to Clydebank after two seasons sharing Morton's ground.

He said: "There are meetings going on and I would like to say yes, that it's 100% definite.

"But it is well down the line now and I would like to think that it will go through, hopefully within the next couple of days.

"On Friday the club was finished and guys were pulling out - now discussions look very good.

"It's fantastic if this does go through because it means that we can say to players that we can give them contracts until the end of the season and then look long term.

"Our plans for the club are that we want to take it back to Clydebank, build a stadium there and make the team full-time.

"We have gone from being a dead club to what could be a really good club that is going places."

Bright future

A spokesman for McGhie told the Sunday Mail: "We are delighted an agreement has been reached. We have been trying our very best for several months to sort it all out.

"The settlement means we can look forward to a bright future for the club and we will do everything possible to get Clydebank back to where they belong.

"Also the players and other staff will stay in a job. That was important to us because Dave didn't want to let any of them down."