DEAN Holdsworth’s Sports Shield consortium were seeking answers from owner Eddie Davies last night as they sought to find out whether their takeover of the club had been successful.

A number of issues have arisen in the last 24 hours that have dented hopes that Davies - currently residing in Barbados – would give his blessing to their bid.

As The Bolton News went to press no decision had been made, and the deadline set by Sports Shield had also passed.

It is understood the group will walk away from the negotiation process if they are not named as preferred bidders.

Davies is keen to ensure that the next owners of the football club he has helmed for the last 13 years have adequate funding to meet the challenges it will face in the next few years, but is conducting the negotiations at his own pace.

A nominal £1 is being asked to assume control, so long as £6million of shareholder loans are paid off in full. But the sticking point for Sports Shield and most of the other parties who have explored the purchase of the club has been to prove they have the money to cover future bills.

That figure has changed consistently through the process but is now thought to be around £8million.

Should Davies choose not to back the Sports Shield bid then it would strengthen the hand of the Supporters’ Trust, giving them encouragement to form a bid of their own.

The trust is currently working towards holding its first elections and is looking to have a say in the club’s future at board level regardless of ownership.

But if they are granted enough leeway, it is possible they could form a hybrid bid, similar to that at Portsmouth, which would see the trust own 51 per cent of the club, with the remaining 49 per cent made up of cash backers.

If those are the only two options currently being considered by the owner, it would appear to rule out the Far East consortium that has been strongly linked with the club over a number of weeks.

Davies could seek to start the selling process again, which would take time and lead to the further sale of assets to fund the club in the shorter term.