Derby County's takeover saga is likely to rumble on into the final few weeks of the campaign after the club's administrators posted their latest update.
The Rams have been in administration for more than six months but despite numerous promises about naming preferred bidders for the Championship club, nothing has materialised. On Thursday joint administrators said they were "not yet in a position to announce details of a preferred bidder" and that they are "disappointed by attempts by some parties to delay and undermine this process".
A statement said: "The joint administrators are not yet in a position to announce details of a preferred bidder and are disappointed by attempts by some parties to delay and undermine this process. These delays are beyond their control.
"We continue to work with those who have provided credible interest in the club and have prioritised these discussions over those who have submitted mere expressions of interest which do not adhere to the roadmap which has been sent to all interested parties.
"The joint administrators continue to take all steps necessary in order to achieve a successful outcome and would like to remind all parties who have an interest in Derby County Football Club that the EFL have made it clear that any offer the joint administrators accept must satisfy football creditors in full in order to even consider the golden share transfer. The quantum of credible bids therefore needs to have a certain level of gravitas and financial viability in order to satisfy the requirements of the EFL insolvency policy."
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The lengthy statement also touched on potential supporter unrest at Derby's next game. Wayne Rooney's side host Preston North End at Pride Park on Saturday. The statement added: "We are aware that supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated at the ongoing administration of the club. As we have previously reported, much of the administration process is conducted in a strictly confidential nature.
"The ongoing process to sell the club, and the negotiations taking place to secure the best outcome for creditors along with securing the long-term future of the Club are subject to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The sharing of these details will not only breach the NDAs in place but are also likely to seriously jeopardise negotiations we are undertaking and compromise our ability to affect a sale of the club. We understand that supporters are very concerned about the future of the club. We also have to recognise that whilst supporters are an extremely important stakeholder, our obligations towards other key stakeholders are equally important at this juncture.
"We would therefore ask that supporters appreciate and respect that the needs of those other key stakeholders which include parties such as creditors, bidders and credible interested parties, HMRC and the EFL need to be aligned with the common goal of ensuring the survival of the Football Club.
"We are aware of movements on social media calling for fans to take decisive action at the Club’s next game against Preston North End on Saturday, and as such serious concerns about crowd safety have been raised. In the event of unrest at the game, which may lead to the game being called off or being abandoned, supporters must be aware that this could severely compromise the Club’s ability to complete its fixtures for the season, which would lead to EFL penalties, neither of which would not be looked upon favourably by bidders."
Derby, hamstrung by two separate points deductions, are eight points from safety with just seven games left to play.
