OLDHAM Athletic's new owners have not been able to complete the sale of Boundary Park and surrounding land before Christmas as originally hoped, but insist the deal remains on track to be finalised in the New Year.

When Frank Rothwell and his family completed their takeover of Oldham Athletic in the summer, they hoped the rest of the package would be only a matter of weeks behind.

However, the process has taken longer than anticipated.

But the club insists there are no undue complications, and that it is just a matter of time.

Following a meeting yesterday to determine what stage of proceedings the deal is at, the club tonight released a statement to update supporters.

It read: "We had hoped to complete the transaction in relation to the land and stadium before Christmas, but it is now looking like completion will not take place until the New Year.

"There is no problem with the agreed terms or funding, it is just that dealing with all the necessary formalities is taking longer than expected. Blame the solicitors and accountants for doing a thorough job!"

The statement also gave an update on chairman Rothwell, who recently underwent surgery.

"The good new is that Frank is well on the road to recovery following his recent operation and has been down to Boundary Park this week sorting out further jobs that need to be done around the ground."