Western Daily press

[STFC Bart]

Reckons Sturrock is going because of the delays in the takeover. Also that it is still "several weeks away"

[Colin Todd]

Its hardly a revelation that the boardroom situation is unlikley to make Sturrock want to stay

[STFC Bart]

Yes but the teakeover being weeks away is.

We have basically until 1 December, and if it aint done by then expect a points deduction at the very least

[Batch]

Lets hope the WDP are wrong on this then.

[Samdy Gray]

Swindon Town boss Paul Sturrock is set to become the new manager of Plymouth Argyle within the next 48 hours.The Scotsman has been widely tipped to make a return to Home Park following Ian Holloway's defection to Leicester City last week and is expected to hold talks with Plymouth chairman Paul Stapleton today.

Stapleton held a board meeting in Sheffield on Saturday to discuss potential candidates and is hoping to have Sturrock installed for the Pilgrims' Championship encounter with West Brom on Wednesday night.

Backroom team Kevin Summerfield and John Blackley will follow Sturrock to Home Park and youth team coach David Byrne is also expected to eventually join the trio.

Byrne, however, is likely to be put in caretaker charge, along with skipper Ady Williams, for Swindon's FA Cup tie against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.

The Daily Press understands that a delay in takeover negotiations between the current owners and the consortium hoping to take control at the County Ground - led by Wiltshire-based businessman Andrew Fitton - is the major factor behind Sturrock's decision to leave.

It is thought that Sturrock would have been happy to stay and work with the new owners if the deal had been finalised by today's predicted deadline. Sources close to the club, however, have revealed that the takeover could still be 'weeks' away.

Club officials remain hopeful that the deal will be finalised in the next few days, with the Football League and the Inland Revenue becoming impatient with the current situation.

The club is expected to receive a hefty compensation package of around £200,000 for Sturrock - but a significant portion of that is expected to be used to pay the wages of the players and other employees at the end of this week.

Out-of-work managers Martin Allen and Steve Cotterill are early names in the frame to replace Sturrock.

Martin Ling, a former County Ground favourite and the current Leyton Orient boss, is also thought to be a potential candidate - but the search for a successor is unlikely to begin until Fitton and his consortium take control.

[janaage]

Well if that is all true then I won't be back until Fitton appoints a new manager.

This club is begining to bore the living death out of me.  

What a great start to the week this is.

[Batch]

http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145787&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145780&contentPK=19074401&folderPk=100269&pNodeId=145803 (link provided for copyright reasons)

If the WDP - the clubs new newspaper partner- are correct. This is a fucking joke of a disaster.

We'll see, Fitton himself set a deadline 'by the end of the month'. Whether that ment done and dusted, or a BESTesque 'exchange readty for completion' who knows.

What I do know is that if this takeover isn't completed (as in Fitton in) this week then I take back all I said about Sturrock.

[STFC Bart]

As someone said on rivals another manager gone due to Diamond Mike

[RobertT]

Are the club going to have a public bashing of the WDP like they did the Adver?  Making such speculative remraks about the takeover, the future of the Manager, the fact that the Revenue are chasing cash etc.  All made-up, surely?