SWINDON Town’s board met yesterday as their search for a new owner continued.

The Advertiser understands a fourth interested party is now in advanced discussions with the powers that be at the County Ground, although one domestic consortium is believed to be leading the way.

The Adver has learnt that one of the foreign investors looking at the possibility of buying up a large chunk of majority shareholder Andrew Black’s 98 per cent stake in the club is European and currently has a vested interest in a professional football club on the continent.

However, the party in question is not the front-runner as things stand, as Swindon try to tie up a deal by the end of this month It is understood that the due diligence procedure could leave the Robins with limited time to finalise any agreement before January 31.

Manager Paolo Di Canio is pleased with the state of affairs, however, saying: “There is positive energy. I can’t promise anything because I can’t sort out the situation on my own, but I know that we are in a very good position at the moment and I hope that we can go through.

“I don’t want to say more because until the deal is done it’s better to not say anything.”

Report that Sir William Patey will resign as chairman of the club when a new owner is found are believed to be accurate, with any new majority shareholder likely to want to bring their own man in to run the Robins.