ERIC Whalley insists he would step down as Accrington Stanley chairman if a suitable investor was prepared to buy out his stake in the club.

Whalley, chairman for the last 12 years, is hoping to attract major investors in a bid to secure the club's Football League future and prevent them going out of business.

And he admits if someone is prepared to buy out his 60 per cent share in Stanley, he would hand over the club's reins.

"I would (stand down)," said Whalley. "If somebody came along and made a good enough offer, they could have the club. They could have my shares in the club."

But Whalley admits that would only happen if an adequate offer was made to purchase his shares.

He added: "It depends on what people would be prepared to offer. At the moment, I could not tell you how much the club is worth."

Only 118 adult season tickets have been sold this season and Whalley is worried that if more people don't come through the turnstiles, then Stanley run the risk of going out of business, as they did back in 1962.

Whalley revealed that Hong Kong-based investment banker Ilyas Khan, who holds shares in Stanley and has made financial donations to the club in the past, has not made any indication that he would like to buy out Stanley.

In 1999, Whalley turned down a bid by Khan to buy his 60 per cent share for a reported £750,000, when Stanley were in the UniBond League.