BURY FC could fold this month if administrators cannot table a deal to clear the club's debts in the next three weeks.

As creditors wait in the wings to recoup a £1.3million mortgage repayment, Shakers have been desperately scraping enough cash together to complete their remaining Division Two fixtures.

Thanks to some furious fund raising, they look certain to pay up the £400,000 needed to keep them from going into liquidation at their High Court date on April 26.

Their next deadline looms on June 1, by which time a creditors meeting must be held and a formal offer made to settle the debt.

But the close season will see match-day revenue dry up rapidly and joint administrator Matthew Dunham claims the club needs to pin investors down to a concrete offer much earlier.

"I must say that we couldn't be where we are today without the overwhelming support of the fans," he said.

"The 'Buy a Seat' appeal has raised £260,000 and the people out with the buckets have also raised a fortune.

"But I have been saying from day one that to get through the close season we will need another £250,000. At the moment, I have absolutely no idea where that's coming from.

"If we don't have a deal being concluded within the next two or three weeks, then it doesn't look rosy. You can only get the fans to sponsor the seats so many times. We need a long term investor."

The hunt for Shakers' saviour was stepped up over Easter as potential investors were given until last Tuesday to show a serious interest.

Now, after around ten parties made initial enquiries, administrators are believed to have just two or three suitors left with which to negotiate a rescue package that will be acceptable to creditors.

It is unknown whether that group includes Irish millionaire John Courtenay, who claims he will turn his attention to an unnamed Division Two club if his proposed takeover of Carlisle United doesn't go through by tomorrow.

"How soon the creditors' meeting happens depends on the level of the offers we get, what the creditors expect and what happens with the ITV Digital scenario," said Dunham.

"Losing the TV money would give people the opportunity to invest in other struggling football clubs, so people are waiting for that to resolve itself first. We would like a rapid end to that uncertainty but I don't think that will happen.

"So we set a deadline for last week and now we are negotiating with the interested parties and trying to broker a deal as soon as we can."

But we are weeks, rather than days, away.

"Where we were on March 1 was extremely precarious and we have come a long way since then but we still have a lot of work to do. We can't guarantee what will happen but we are hopeful of getting some deal brokered by the end of the season."