Return ticket

BACK ON BOARD: Mike Newton, who failed in a bid to take control of League Two side Port Vale, is set to return to Boundary Park.

MIKE NEWTON is set for a shock return to the Athletic board, the Oldham Evening Chronicle understands.

The 41-year-old financier resigned as a director at the end of the 2009-10 season, citing a disagreement over how best to move the club forward.

Newton announced his decision to depart after a tumultuous end to the campaign, which saw Dave Penney sacked and Martin Gray installed as caretaker manager prior to the final game of the season at home to Charlton.

After talks to get back into football with Port Vale and Stockport faltered, though, Newton’s differences at board level appear to have been patched up and he is ready to step back in at Boundary Park.

He was in attendance at Athletic’s 3-1 win at Leyton Orient on Saturday and is currently back at his New York base.

Newton’s official return is subject to a final stamp of approval from the existing board and Athletic chairman Simon Corney.

The amount of money he will put into Athletic in not known, though when attempting to take control at Vale he was reportedly set to invest a six-figure sum.

At present, Athletic only have three directors in Corney, Ian Hill and Barry Owen, after chief executive Alan Hardy stepped down due to health reasons in May.

Born in Stoke-on-Trent, football-mad Newton graduated from King’s College, Cambridge, with an economics degree and has worked for the Bank of England and for HSBC in Hong Kong as an economist specialising in Asian markets.

From there, he became a trader for a hedge fund based in the Big Apple and became involved with Athletic originally due to a professional relationship with Corney’s cousin Neil.

On the playing front, Athletic will check this week on David Mellor, who was forced off the field at Orient with a knee injury.

Should he fail to recover in time to take on Brentford on Saturday, the obvious replacement at left-back is Bradley Diallo.