VICS owner Jim Rushe reckons he has found a backer to fund his bid to buy back the club’s home ground.

He told supporters last night that should a deal follow he may no longer be in sole charge of the town’s biggest team.

“I’ve been talking to a group of people,” he revealed.

“We’ve met on a number of occasions and they have enough money – it’s a consortium who want to buy the football club too.”

Rushe would remain at the helm, saying the key to any deal would be a continued role for him in Vics’ short-term future.

However the new owners would take shares in Northwich Victoria Football Club (2004) Limited for free.

At the moment Rushe is the only stakeholder.

“It’s very expensive to run Northwich Victoria,” he added.

“To move to the next level we have to have affluent people who can write cheques themselves or are in a position to borrow large amounts of money.

“At the moment this club has a poor reputation for managing its finances and so can’t borrow under any circumstances.

“That’s why I believe I am talking to the right people who can take the club forward from here.”

He gave no clues as to which – or how many - individuals made up the interested party.

The company that currently owns and runs the Marston’s Arena, Beaconet Limited, had its main asset seized by receivers from global finance services firm Deloitte & Touche at the end of last month.

They will now sell off the nine-acre site to pay off debts totalling millions of pounds.

Rushe had agreed a deal with Mike Connett, Vics’ landlord and former chairman, to buy the land for £3.2m over the summer but was unable to find the money.

He hopes to shake hands soon on a deal worth substantially less.

“I’m in negotiations with Deloitte,” he said.

“It’s up to us to come up with the money now.”

Connett paid £225,000 for the land in December 2004. Since then he has borrowed money from three lenders using the land as surety.

Part of that cash paid for the completion of the then Victoria Stadium, since rebranded as the Marston’s Arena.

One of those lenders, Clydesdale Bank, has asked Deloitte experts to recover the cash it is owed under the terms of the Law of Property Act (1925).

That debt alone is £1.25m.

Connett, who last year sold Northwich Victoria Football Club (2004) Limited to Rushe when the club owed more than £350,000 to HM Revenue and Customs, has no say on what happens next.

He still owns Beaconet and can still run the business from its Wincham home.