Ridsdale refusal leaves Latics in limbo

OLDHAM'S future is up in the air once again after Peter Ridsdale dropped his interest in taking over at Boundary Park.

Former Leeds chairman Ridsdale was sounded out if he was interested in spearheading a takeover of the cash-strapped club, but he has decided against making an offer.

Oldham are facing extinction after former owner Chris Moore withdrew his backing of The Latics.

Club officials are still anxiously searching for other investors but Oldham boss Iain Dowie fears the worst with many players already set to move on.

"I am not sure the club will even be here on Monday morning, that is how grim the reality is," admitted Dowie.

"We are giving the club mouth to mouth every day. It really is as grim a situation as I have ever been in."

The club face an anxious wait on their survival hopes, with things possibly coming to a head on Friday, July 11, when the 14-day deadline for the payment of £50,000 in overdue wages to the players expires.

Latics trio Fitz Hall, Will Haining and Les Pogliacomi have all expressed their desire to leave on free transfers should they not receive their wages and other players are expected to follow suit.

Oldham's marketing and PR manager Sean Jarvis revealed his disappointment at Ridsdale's reluctance to get involved in a rescue bid, but insisted the fight for survival would go on.

"We felt Peter could have brought an awful lot to the club," said Jarvis. "We wish him well in the future.

"As far as Oldham are concerned, we have to remain positive. We had a couple of meetings yesterday (Thursday) and one or two planned for today and some more early next week. Hopefully something will come out of them.

"We believe we have a good proposal to put forward and there is a real future for the club."