WANDERERS ‘woes have intensified after a bad weekend on and off the pitch.

A 2-0 defeat at Swansea City coupled with victories for Reading and Rotherham left Phil Parkinson’s side seven points adrift of safety in the Championship.

Things are faring little better in Ken Anderson’s attempts to sell the club, and there have been strong indications over the last 48 hours that the Football Ventures (Whites) group, who have been doing due diligence for the last week, are on the verge of dropping their interest.

The consortium, fronted by Parminder Basran and Sharron Brittan, have been working on a deal since December but have hit upon problems since agreeing a deal in principle with Anderson last Sunday.

They declined to comment on the state of the takeover when approached by The Bolton News.

Anderson has opened talks with two other parties, one of which is based in the North West, but with bills piling up and a court date with the HMRC just over a fortnight away, the pressure is now on him to strike a deal as soon as possible.

In an email sent on Friday afternoon, Anderson implied that staff would be paid their overdue February salaries – but not until the club was sold.

Now with a home game against Millwall just five days away, the Wanderers owner finds himself in an awkward position, particularly with the part-time matchday employees.

On the pitch things are little better. Defeat at Swansea City on Saturday left Wanderers seven points from safety in the Championship, and speaking after the final whistle Phil Parkinson admitted the uncertainty is becoming difficult to handle.

“This is probably the hardest position this club has been in,” he said. “But we have got to keep going, it’s all we can do.

“The powers that be are getting close to a resolution, I’d imagine.

“Let’s just hope that this week there is some positive news for the club, going forward.

“Everybody has had enough of the situation, the uncertainty surrounding the club, and hopefully we get some good news to lift us during the week.”

Wanderers were reduced to 10 men at the Liberty Stadium just before half time when Craig Noone was sent off for a second bookable offence. They then went down to nine as David Wheater was handed a straight red by referee Gavin Ward for a professional foul on Wayne Routledge.

They still held out until 10 minutes before the end before goals from Oli McBurnie and Bersant Celina gave Swansea three points.

“The lads are obviously very disappointed, not with their effort levels because they absolutely gave everything, ran themselves into the ground and played with great commitment but it’s a blow for us to lose a game in the manner we did,” Parkinson said.