ACCRINGTON Stanley joint chairman Dave O’Neill still believes he is the right man to guide the club out of their financial crisis – but he says now may be the time to talk with Ilyas Khan and the Supporters’ Fund.

On the proviso that the club issue new shares, the fund has this week offered to pay off Stanley’s entire debt, which they believe extends beyond the £308,000 tax bill that must be met before potential winding up proceedings in the High Court on October 28.

The fund also claimed they were better placed to take the club forward than the current regime but O’Neill, who has also brought in Marcelle Lazarus as joint chairman, believes Stanley will return to a sound financial footing under his leadership.

Khan, the fund’s benefactor, has complained of a lack of dialogue but O’Neill may be set to meet him in London today along with Stanley vice chairman Peter Marsden.

“I don’t really know what he wants,” said O’Neill, who invested £100,000 in the club last year as well as buying out Eric Whalley in July.

“He is saying he will put £2 in for every £1 I put in, although I don’t know why he’s picking me out. It’s all a bit confusing and theirs is not the only offer we have on the table. It seems to all be coming to a head now and it’s getting to the point where they need to walk away or let’s sit down and be sensible.

“I think it’s going that way. It’s been said that we have had no dialogue with Ilyas since May but we’ve got a meeting planned for today.

“When I took over I was confident we could pay off the debt, and we are putting a structure in place to allow the club to develop.

“We’ve got one eye on the deadline but we’re going to launch things in the next few days which we think will raise substantial amounts of money.”

While Whalley’s resignation was registered with Companies House in early August, O’Neill is still not officially the club’s owner. He expects that to happen in the next few days as the club work through financial hurdles.