Athletic owner 'here for the long term'

Athletic owner Abdallah Lemsagam

Athletic have issued a statement insisting the club is in the midst of re-building after relegation to League Two.

The brief statement comes less than 24 hours after a damning story appeared in the national media, claiming the club could become the next Leyton Orient and drop out of the Football League.

According to the Daily Mail, Athletic are suffering from a crippling wage bill which, by the end of the season, had “spiralled from around £1.4m to a frightening figure approaching £2.4m.”

The article goes on to paint the club as a picture of discontent in the build up to their last day of the season relegation to League Two, claiming players were in disagreement with management, denied moves away from Boundary Park, wages went unpaid, and the owner, Abdallah Lemsagam, entering the dressing room during halftime of a game at home to Southend United.

The article read: “He left after looking around the room without saying a word. Regardless, one senior player visited the owner to plead with him not to do it again. Oldham lost 3-0.”

Athletic have now admitted the club was in “great jeopardy at the time of the recent takeover, but the foundations of the club will be re-built.”

Owner Lemsagam added: “My long term aim and ambition for the club has not changed. I have never run away from any challenge and will not be doing so at Oldham.

“I am still fully committed to this great club. It is unfortunate that recent media reports have been made to damage our club.”

In the Daily Mail article, it is claimed Mr Lemsagam was pumping money into the club prior to taking over in January, and if he hadn’t the club would have been struggling to make ends meet.

Mr Lemsagam wouldn’t be drawn on this in his statement, though.

It read: “I will not be making any further comments in respect of the media article and will focus our energy on the real and important tasks in hand. We will let our actions speak for themselves.

“I have invested several millions in the club since my arrival, but unfortunately the mess was bigger than we expected.

“Let me be clear, I am here for the long term. I will continue to invest whenever it is needed, but our ultimate goal is to run the club in a responsible and sustainable manner.”