Morecambe FC fans' relief as club sale finalised

Fan Joel Shooter says he is feeling "very relieved" the sale has gone through

"Delighted, emotional, relieved and ecstatic" are just some of the emotions expressed by fans of Morecambe Football Club after the future of the club looks to have been secured.

A deal to transfer ownership of the club to Panjab Warriors has now been completed.

The Shrimps could play their first game in the National League as early as Saturday if paperwork is submitted in time.

Fan and podcaster Joel Shooter said he was feeling "very relieved".

"It's nice to be getting up in the morning without that cloud of ownership issues hanging over our heads," he said.

Fans have praised the community for rallying around them

"It's now a case of getting all the players sorted and getting all the signatures over the line and get things in place like insurance to actually enable us to play," he added.

"Seeing the way that the football community banded round us is something that we're hugely grateful for."

Pat Stoles, chair of the Shrimps Trust, said it was "a huge relief that we're actually going to be able to play football this season".

"Most people had given up on any real hope of getting through this... but we've got through it and we're still here and we are going to be able to move on," he said.

Fan Julie Stanley said the "sense of community has been increasingly obvious throughout this whole saga".

"Not only the local community but also the wider community, who have shared our despair and offered their hands of friendship and support," she said.

She added that she had been left with "a renewed sense of pride in our club".

The former co-chairman at Morecambe FC, Rod Taylor, said he was feeling "delighted, emotional, relieved, ecstatic, but the overall emotion is relief because this has been a long journey".

The former co-chairman at Morecambe FC, Rod Taylor, says he is feeling "delighted" and "emotional"

"Just to get it over the line it's been a really busy weekend... and we're there," he said.

"Even though the staff haven't been paid for 10 weeks, there's still been key staff working throughout and one of the strong things for me is that they get paid today."

Lancaster restaurant, The Sultan Experience, donated hundreds of meals to staff who had not been paid, as the community rallied around to support.

Morecambe and Lunesdale MP Lizzi Colling said it had been "phenomenal to see how everyone's worked together".

"It's been hanging over the town for the last couple of months, and I feel like now we can look forward to the future," she added.

'Quite emotional'

Fan Jon Holder said: "Thank you also to the tireless efforts of the Trust and everyone else involved.

"A truly remarkable effort.

He added: "It's also been great to see the whole football community come together, no matter what the club, or where they are based."

Another supporter, Scott, from Manchester told BBC Radio Lancashire "I think it will be a full house on Saturday for sure, I'm rescheduling my plans so I can try and get to the game."

Brian from Freckleton said he was feeling "quite emotional".

"I'm just so pleased for the people of Morecambe," he said. "It's not just the club, it's everybody associated with the whole town.

"Every football fan is just relieved and pleased for Morecambe."