DAVE O’Neill has assured Accrington Stanley fans that the club will not face a transfer embargo because of their unpaid tax bill.

O’Neill – who believes reacing the Championship is not an impossible dream for Stanley – took over the running of day-to-day affairs this week after Eric Whalley stepped down, and he is soon set to complete his purchase of a large proportion of the departing chairman’s shares.

The 52-year-old businessman is taking a prudent approach to the job, having already had to cut the League Two club’s playing budget by 25 per cent to balance the books.

Stanley recently faced winding up proceedings over a £300,000 tax bill but they have since been adjourned after the club reached an agreement with HM Revenue and Customs to pay off the debt in 12 monthly instalments of around £25,000 each.

O’Neill knows Stanley’s priority will be to move back on to a sound financial footing but he sees potential for the club to push on in the future – even as far as the second tier of English football, where they have never been before.

“Once we got on a financial footing, there’s no reason why we can’t progress a league or two,” he said.

The Football League last week announced plans to place a transfer embargo on clubs who run up tax debts, but O’Neill says the Reds will not be affected in their current situation.

“It only works for clubs that are in default,” he said.

“We’ve an agreement with the tax office and providing we make all the payments on time, then there’s no embargo.

“We haven’t broken any league rules, it’s a separate issue. It’s any club that now hasn’t paid their PAYE, they would be embargoed for that.”