PETER Shackleton was today trying to find out if his proposed takeover of Burnley is any nearer completion.

Shackleton is fronting a group of investors and has had his bid for the Turf Moor club accepted in principle by the Burnley board.

But the deal - which is said to involve an initial £12 million package for the club - seems to have reached a standstill amid serious doubts about its viability.

The backers insist that it will go ahead once the proposed investors, who run a privately-owned company dealing in oils and mineral reserves, have completed an unconnected merger with another firm.

But, despite insisting that the takoever is "still progressing", Shackleton seemed to be as much in the dark as anyone else when I spoke to him today.

"I am going to speak to my solicitors to try and find out what's going on," he said.

He said he is not aware of any threats to the takeover but admitted: "I am a bit frustrated by the delays."

When asked what the reasons are for those delays, he replied: "It's to do with a wider scale."

He added: "The problem has become because of the merger with mining companies." Shackleton said he understood the frustration of the Burnley supporters who have become increasingly disillusioned at what they see as a missed opportunity to inject some cash into the club via an alternative bid as they have no faith in the board's chosen option. But when I asked him if he had any words of encouragement for the Clarets' followers he said: "I don't want to say anything. I am about to ring my solicitors."

Ian Burns, a spokesman for Shackleton's backers, told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph on June 13 that the merger would be completed within a week to allow the company to concentrate on pushing ahead with the Burnley deal.

However, there has been no further progress and in the past two days Burns' phone number in Spain has not been taking calls.

The board doubtless acted in good faith when accepting Shackleton's proposals but it's 12 months ago this week that we first revealed that a mystery buyer had approached the club with a view to a takeover.

The status quo still remains and while it must be tempting to hang on to wait for the riches that are promised by the Shackleton camp, the time has surely come for him to show the colour of his money or stand aside.

On a more encouraging note, Burnley are following the example of Sunderland and planning to offer free places to selected schoolchildren at matches next season.

The club has liaised with the local education authority and is writing to junior schools in the area offering them free admission for children accompanied by an adult paying £10. "That put an extra 8,500 on Sunderland's games, albeit for mid-week or not high profile games but still lifted it from 32,000 to 40,000," said Burnley's commercial manager Peter Davis.

Davis also reported an upturn in bookings for hospitality facilities during matches at Turf Moor, although the club is still lacking match sponsors for a couple of their early games.

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