NEWPORT County AFC Supporters Trust Committee member Gavin Foxall says Les Scadding’s decision to remove the former board of directors and put the Trust in charge has helped in preparations for the potential takeover of the club, writes Andrew Penman.

Major shareholder Scadding asked interim chairman Howard Greenhaf and the executive directors to step down on August 10.

Tony Pring was appointed as the new interim chairman and he and fellow Trust members Foxall, Jon Bowkett and Shaun Johnson currently make up the interim board.

Foxall admits it is a situation that they did not expect to be in but, ahead of tonight’s share offer launch at Newport’s Riverfront Theatre at 7pm, he says it has given the Trust a better insight into what needs to be done if the takeover is to succeed.

“I’ve got no doubts in my mind that decisions were made for the right reasons but the club has been in a position where it has been using this year’s money to pay last year’s debts,” said Foxall.

“I don’t think that’s uncommon but the club has found itself in some quite difficult positions as a result of that and previous decisions that have been made.

“That probably contributed to the decision that Les made with us coming on board so that we could see from within as opposed to outside.

“There is no doubt in my mind that things have accelerated with that but there is also a lot more information that we can now see.

“I think it’s fair to say that the club probably hasn’t been managed in a way that it should have been,” he added.

“But the appointment of [chief executive] Jason Turner is turning that around and we have absolute confidence in him.

“Historically there are quite a few things to fix but there’s a good plan in place to manage the situation until those debts are paid off.”

Bowkett said: “Any business needs a structure to follow but there has been no structure up to now and Jason has worked tremendously hard to put that in place.

“We’ve also got Martin Baker working with us on a plan for the future. He’s an accountant by trade and he’s worked with Jason at Plymouth.”