Stanley looked to be on the brink of going out of business as they prepared for another appearance at the High Court on Wednesday.

But following the appointment of local businessman Ilyas Khan as non-executive chairman and Peter Marsden as president, fears for the club's future have now been allayed.

Khan issued a joint statement with new president Marsden, which read: "We believe that the town, the community and the supporters should now link arms with the team and the management to forge a stronger and vibrant partnership that will be a credit to this wonderful Football Club.

"Whilst there have been clear differences of opinion between David (O'Neill) and ourselves, these are not only resolved, but put behind us.

"The three new directors will concentrate on their areas of expertise, and jointly, bring their collective endeavours to actions that are exclusively in the best interests of the club."