ONE of the members of a consortium poised to take over at Swindon Town has pledged to work with manager Paolo Di Canio when the sale of the club is completed.

Erroneous reports in various national newspapers of late have suggested that Di Canio and the prospective new owners of the Robins have already had a disagreement about the way Town move forward once they take control at the County Ground.

Yesterday, the Daily Mirror went so far as to state that the consortium fronted by Jed McCrory were ready to sack the Italian and replace him with a managerial partnership of Brian Stein and Mike Newell as Di Canio was too expensive to keep on.

However, the Advertiser understands the men looking to buy into the club have yet to meet personally with Di Canio - although his representatives are believed to have spoken to McCrory and other members of the group of new investors.

Despite being constrained by the terms of a non-disclosure agreement, in place until the sale of the club is finalised - which could be as early as tomorrow - McCrory chose to issue a statement exclusively to the Adver in an effort to allay fans’ fears.

It read: “I feel the need to break the NDA (non-disclosure agreement) due to the breaking story (in the Mirror).

“I have had no contact or conversation, be it email, telephone or any other means, with Mike Newell.

“We are disappointed that people are putting stories together due to the uncertainty over the situation and would like to state we are looking forward to working with Paolo Di Canio and the team going forward.

“We are working tirelessly to bring the purchase of the club to an end to allow all to return to normality.

“As a football fan I am aware of the need to end this uncertainty as soon as possible.”

The five-strong consortium’s takeover of the Robins is imminent, as members of the group await the results of their fit and proper persons test from the Football League.

The Adver has learnt that a sickness bug within the administrative body is partly responsible for the delay in the applications, although the respective parties are still pushing the sale of the club through at an extraordinary rate.

The fact Paolo Di Canio chose not to take questions from the assembled media at Colchester on Tuesday night has given some outlets the ammunition to speculate further regarding his future.

However, the Advertiser understands he will not take any major decision until he has had the chance to meet personally with Swindon’s new owners, as and when the takeover is ratified, to discuss how the club progresses.