Michael Fialka explains why Pinnacle are no longer bidding for Southampton.

'Yesterday, myself and my Consortium publicly withdrew from being the front runners for our proposed takeover of Southampton Football Club.

‘We advised our advisers of this decision, and the basis of that decision, and they in turn made our stance known. Let me be clear that in publicly withdrawing our offer based on the conditions that I understood needing to be met, we did not, nor have lost our interest in the Club. Moreover, we felt that it was necessary to make this decision for the good of the Club, in the event that another interested party were better placed or willing to complete the takeover on the basis of the terms on offer. That decision has not changed.

‘However, I was very pleased to learn today that the Football League have made it known that, in the event of a takeover, no further sanctions will be issued to Southampton Football Club. With that in mind, we were advised by Pinnacle today to reconsider our position, and we are now looking at this. In the event of a successful completion, we remain of the opinion that we will have the support of the fans, which of course is crucial. It is deeply regrettable that matters have not yet been concluded, but as confirmed by the Administrators, this is a complex transaction, and if we do proceed, we need to be certain that everything has been looked at and the good of the Club is put first.

‘I hope today’s events result in a successful takeover now being possible - but if this does not happen, we hope that whoever buys the Club will be able to deliver what the fans deserve.’