JOHN FARRINGDON hopes his role as chairman of Dover Athletic will be a short one - as Jim Parmenter continues to prepare a takeover bid, writes Justin Allen

Parmenter, who was today hoping to meet with businessmen interested in joining his consortium, could make a formal approach within the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Farringdon is acting chairman following the resignation of Mick Kemp.

He said: "I'm very hopeful that Jim will be successful with his rescue bid. It's our best hope of moving this club forward and I'd be delighted if I am only chairman for a couple of days.

"Jim should be congratulated for what he's trying to do. I am certainly backing his takeover bid - and so is the Supporters Trust. Therefore, I hope all Dover Athletic fans can get behind Jim's bid and the trustees' attempt to raise Ł48,000."

The Supporters Trust believe they have somewhere in the region of Ł13,000 in their war chest and will donate their funds to the club if it is needed.

Farringdon, who is the Trust's representative on the club's board, said: "We've said all along that we'd help plug any shortfall from the Fighting Fund - who have done a superb job in raising the money.

"The Trustees - and the club's official site - have raised over half of the amount required in a matter of weeks. It's now coming up for Christmas and that's perhaps slowed things down a bit. But we can get this total if we all give it one final push."

Christmas has also slowed down Parmenter's plans to make a formal approach to the club.

Farringdon added: "It's so difficult for Jim to get everyone together at this busy time of year. Christmas has worked against us a bit.

"But I now believe that we are approaching a turning point. Folkestone is the game I hope which will see our fortunes change, both on and off the pitch.

"I just ask the fans to stay behind us. We are working hard behind the scenes at the moment to stabilise the club and hopefully hand it over to Jim in the not-too-distant future."

Earlier in the week, however, company secretary, Steve Cattermole issued the following statement announcing Kemp's resignation.

"Mick (Kemp) states his reasons as "members within the club, who made his position untenable" and the lack of backing from the Supporters Trust which he saw as a challenge to his "honesty and integrity.

"No one has worked harder than Mick in the past two-and-a-half years, when he gave his time freely but sometimes at an enormous cost to his business. Alongside this there were threats against his person (as I also received) and damage sustained to his business premises, none of which portray the club or its supporters in a good light.

"However, knowing Mick, he'd have risen above an almost indefinable amount of this.

"He stays on as a director and will form an important part of the transition to an alternative administration, if this transpires to happen. In the meantime, John Farringdon steps in as Acting-Chairman until a more permanent arrangement can be achieved."

And the club announced they came very close to being suspended by the Ryman League.

In a statement, the club said:

"The league wrote to outgoing chairman Mick Kemp, wanting to know why three players, one a former employee, had not been paid in recent weeks and also information about the club's contract insurance that covers injured players.

"Company secretary Steve Cattermole successfully averted any action being taken against the club this afternoon by providing the league with all the information they required.

"League secretary Nick Robinson has told the club that the threat of suspension has been lifted and that they are satisfied with Dover Athletic's response to their letter.

"Suspension would have meant that our away fixture at Folkestone would have been postponed - but that game now will go ahead as scheduled."

Cattermole added: "I'd like to ensure all supporters that the Ryman League are completely satisfied with the club and it is business as usual while we wait for developments with Jim Parmenter's consortium's takeover bid and the fundraising efforts of the Supporters Trust and Fighting Fund trustees."