FIGHT FOR OUR IRON

Fans rally cry at stricken club

- Andy Mitchell

SCUNTHORPE United’s supporters’ trust has issued a rallying cry for fans to get behind efforts to save the crisis-torn club from closure.

The Iron Trust this week received more than 200 new membership requests on the back of club chairman David Hilton’s bombshell that he would no longer fund the National North outfit and plans to abandon the fight to hold onto Glanford Park, announcing a ground share at Gainsborough Trinity.

Hilton recently placed the club on the market and acknowledged that a series of county court judgements had come forward as a result of him partially withdrawing funding.

That financial backing has now gone altogether with staff reportedly left unpaid, prompting the fans behind the Iron Bru and Iron Hour podcasts to set up a GoFundMe page that has topped £50,000. It also means the end of funding for the legal fight with ex-chairman and stadium owner Peter Swann whose quest to evict Hilton and the club is with the courts.

A club statement declared that Hilton views his position as “untenable” and is “actively seeking a way out” with directors quitting as a result.

It added that “stadium issues, numerous litigation proceedings and winding up petitions” had put off would-be buyers, including a consortium of local business people and supporters.

“The chairman and remaining board members have now set out a plan in order to very quickly make the club sustainable,” it continued.