Macclesfield Town Update

Silkmen provide first instalment in a new series of monthly updates.

Although we are rigorously fighting the EFL's decision to appeal the outcome of our recent Independent Disciplinary Panel hearing, it has understandably paralysed the Club from being able to make a whole range of decisions ahead of the new season.

Despite this, we wanted to provide a brief update centring on a number of key issues.

First of all, back in December Majority Shareholder Amar AlKadhi wrote to supporters in order to convey his belief that negotiations regarding the sale of his stake in the Club were at an "advanced" stage.

This involved multiple parties and at the time, we were bound by legal restrictions in terms of what we could say publicly.

Whilst it is regrettable that a sale could not be agreed back then, Mr AlKadhi remains committed to relinquishing control of the Club should the right offer present itself. Mr AlKadhi would like to stress that the monetary value of the sale is only one of the factors involved - with plans for the long-term future and prosperity of the Club also taking paramount importance within any potentially successful bid.

Positive discussions are continuing and it is hoped that these will yield tangible results upon our EFL status being re-confirmed.

Obviously this is a sensitive and in many respects a legally restrictive issue in terms of what we can publicly state, however we will provide a further update on this as soon as we are able.

Moving on, we would like to provide an update regarding the roles of Chief Executive and Head Coach at the Football Club.

The role of Chief Executive has been vacant for some time now and in many ways, that has been visible for all to see.

Going forward, we recognise the need for a strong, dynamic figure who is experienced within the game leading the Club and also one who also has the authority to make all the necessary decisions.

To this end, the management of the Club will be concentrated where it should be - at local level. By people who appreciate the concerns of our loyal supporters, sponsors and stakeholders and can connect with them all in a manner which is both mutually beneficial and eliciting trust.

The good news is that we have identified an individual who has all the credentials to fulfil this role in a way which will take the Club forward. The interest is mutual too - however we cannot formally make an offer to them due to the current uncertainty over our EFL status.

In addition to this, we would like to publicly offer Mark Blower our most sincere thanks for his continued counsel and unwavering support in helping the Club navigate our way around the challenges that currently face us.

This has not only proved to be invaluable, but is greatly appreciated by us all.

Once again, we will confirm any further developments on this matter as soon as we possibly can.

You will be aware that Mark Kennedy and Danny Butterfield are both now out of contract, after signing an initial deal with us which spanned until the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

We would like to place on record our thanks to both Mark and Danny for all their hard work last season, whilst also making clear that we are doing everything we can to ensure that the two remain at the Club going forward.

The Club hope that the matter will be resolved in the very near future and we will make further comment on this when we are able.

Finally for now, we are very close to being in a position where we can advise season ticket holders how they will be reimbursed for the five games which were cancelled at the end of the 2019/20 campaign.

The EFL sent relevant guidelines over to us earlier today and we are consulting these to ensure that our strategy meets with them fully, before a formal announcement is made.

What we can say is that we have devised what is believed to be a very well-thought out and innovative offering in relation to season ticket reimbursements and we are sure that this will be well received by all those affected.

Clearly, there is much work to be done by us all in relation to so many different areas and we empathise with those who would have liked a fuller, more committed update from us.

Like you, we also crave that certainty of knowing what we are able and unable to do across virtually every aspect of our Club.

Until that point we will keep battling on, working tirelessly to ensure that when we receive clarity, we are ready to hit the ground running.