Bury staff plead with owner Steve Dale to accept takeover bid as expulsion from League looms

Bury staff were last night pleading with the club's current owner to accept an 11th hour takeover bid to save them from English Football League extinction.

"This offer is the only lifeline for the future of the Club and we implore Steve Dale to accept it, as it has the full backing of all of the senior staff at Bury FC," said a message on the club website from senior officials.

The statement appeared on the club website just minutes after the EFL said also criticised Dale, saying he has until 9am on Tuesday to stop the Shakers' fourth straight match from being abandoned.

Bury have already been issued with a "notice of withdrawal of membership" by the EFL and have until August 23 to meet insolvency  requirements before they are thrown out of the league.

The EFL met with Dale on Monday but said it was still waiting to receive "clarity on how he plans to meet the club’s commitments to football creditors".

After the meeting the club said in statement that Dale had been told of an offer to buy the club.

"We can confirm that today we have received an offer for the sale of Bury Football Club, one that we all at the Club believe is a very good offer," a statement said. "This offer has been conveyed to Steve Dale and we are still waiting to hear from him."

The Shakers were given a two-week deadline to save their League One status last week after the  Carabao Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday was abandoned. Dale bought Bury from Stewart Day in December 2018, during a campaign which saw joy on the pitch with automatic promotion from League Two, but was marred by chaos off it.

The Professional Footballers' Association stepped in to help pay for players' salaries in March and April, while Bury fans raised nearly £1,000 in shopping vouchers to help staff who were not paid their wages as scheduled.

Bury had made no previous official statement since August 3, when they claimed through a lawyer that the EFL's stance was causing "immeasurable damage" to the club.