Hartlepool United Supporters Trust aim to join Jeff Stelling consortium bid

TV presenter Jeff Stelling is looking for parties to invest in a consortium to take over Hartlepool

Hartlepool United Supporters Trust aim to raise a minimum of £250,000 to enable them to join Jeff Stelling's takeover consortium bid.

TV presenter and Pools fan Stelling wants to buy the National League club with an unnamed Teesside businessman, investing £1.2m in total.

But the Hartlepool president is trying to raise another £600,000 to try and secure the club's future.

"We'll see how fans respond," Trust president Ron Harnish said.

"We decided to go for a realistic figure, we might beat it, who knows but with that in the ring it might change the context because nobody was coming forward."

• READ MORE: Jeff Stelling calls for investment interest in Pools consortium takeover

Time is the biggest issue for the possible consortium to contend with, as costs at Victoria Park continue to mount and the threat of administration looms.

Fan contributions to a Crowdfunder account set up by the Trust have already helped the current owners HUFC Holdings Limited meet HM Revenue and Customs debts and other financial commitments such as salaries.

Harnish is hopeful that theirs and other possible investors' efforts can help steer Pools away from any administration fears this month.

"We know there are other groups, and they're all putting in, collecting themselves so we hope in the next week we'll have a really good guide to where we," Harnish said.

"Towards the end of March, when the bad time comes, the league rules change and hopefully we're in place so we can put that on the table."