Mike Ashley insists he is not walking away from buying Derby County but has warned time is running out to save the stricken club.
The former Newcastle United owner has been angered by reports that he is pulling out of talks to take over Derby, which has been in administration since September.
And today Ashley’s team moved to reassure Derby fans that the billionaire chief executive of Frasers Group, remains very much in the hunt.
‘It is 100 per cent incorrect that Mike Ashley has pulled out of the process,’ the tycoon’s personal spokesman Keith Bishop, told Sportsmail.
‘Mike is still very interested in the football club. He is unhappy about suggestions he is pulling out and he is keen to save the club.’
Ashley’s team decided to go on the record after another weekend of speculation over the tortuous administration process at Pride Park, which has been ongoing for five months.
The administrators, Quantuma, had promised to name a preferred bidder for the club in December, but almost two months later fans and staff are still waiting and increasingly anxious.
Despite valiant efforts on the pitch under manager Wayne Rooney, the Championship club is limping along off it, with Derby surviving a deadline last month following a further injection of cash to keep it going.
But Ashley’s team, which insists it has not been briefing journalists on the long-running saga that has seen conflicting reports over recent weeks, warns it cannot go on much longer.
‘For it to be saved, everyone is running out of time,’ said Bishop. ‘People are not facing up to this time element.’
There are currently three interested parties involved in discussions over Derby County’s future – the US-based Binnie brothers and a consortium involving ex-club chairman Andy Appleby, as well as Ashley, who sold Newcastle United for £305M in October.
Only when a preferred bidder has been announced can the process of settling with creditors and bringing the club out of administration begin and the club’s finances must be restructured to make the business sustainable.
One of the creditors with preferential status is HMRC, which is owed almost £30M. Ashley's team are staggered that former owner, Mel Morris, was allowed to run up such a huge debt.
'Why did they not get guarantees from him?' asked Bishop.
All of that will take a minimum of 12 weeks, said Bishop, and Ashley’s team believes a preferred bidder must be in place by March ‘at the latest’ or there will ‘not be enough time’.
Currently, the legal claims made by Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers remain outstanding and it remains to be seen how the issue of Pride Park will be resolved, which must be leased or bought from Mel Morris in any takeover.