Courtenay's accountants have already had a chance to look at the books and will move into Brunton Park on Monday morning to do a sweep of the last seven years of the club's financial affairs. If everything is checked and in order by the afternoon, the Irish millionaire who runs the Umbro sportswear franchise in Ireland will make an offer that he hopes Knighton will accept. Knighton slapped the 5pm deadline on Courtenay earlier this week, claiming that he had already reached an "advanced" stage of negotiations with another, unnamed third party. Courtenay says he will give manager Roddy Collins a five-year contract and money to buy players if he is successful in securing the club. He hopes to steer them into the First Division within four years, he says. "Michael Knighton is insisting we have a firm offer on the table on Monday - and we could possibly make one by then. The club will allow our accountants access on Monday to do due diligence. If we get a long way down the road and we've checked the major things, I would be fairly confident we could make an offer," said Courtenay. "If I wasn't as keen, I would just walk away, but we have a gone a long way down the road. The timescale is very tight and it is difficult to work within that timescale. It is unusual for a deal to be put under pressure to be complete in a week, but we will do our best to work within that timescale. "We are perfectly happy with what we would be buying, and we are only interested in the football accounts. But there are documents we need to see, which is normal business procedure." Goal-happy Stevo is off the transfer list Rejuvenated striker Ian Stevens has been officially taken off the transfer list by manager Roddy Collins. After grabbing four goals in five games since returning to the side at the end of November, the 35-year-old veteran has helped lift the Cumbrians off the foot of the table and they are now in their highest league position since September. It was only recently that Collins was describing Stevens as "lazy" and saying he had no future at the club. Possible moves to Stalybridge Celtic and Shrewsbury were put on hold though and Stevens was recalled to the side after Collins admitted he had failed in his attempt to sign a younger replacement. Since then he has gradually rehabilitated Stevens and the hat-trick against Leyton Orient last Saturday seems to have persuaded him to keep the vastly-experienced goal poacher at the club, with the prospect of a new contract in the offing. "It would be silly not to take him off the transfer list," explained Collins. "He is tied up with us until the summer and, if he continues playing the way he is, we would consider an extension of his contract. I would see no reason why he couldn't stay, if he's up to it." |
