EDDIE Mitchell insisted his offer to buy a majority shareholding in Poole Town was still on the table and that an impasse with chairman Clive Robbins had scuppered the initial deal.

The Sandbanks-based property developer said he had requested to extend his option in order to plough capital into the Dolphins before buying the shares owned by Robbins and the estate of his late father, Arthur Robbins.

Mitchell explained the changes had been instigated by his belief that vice-chairman Chris Reeves should be at the helm and that the club should receive the cash injection ahead of Robbins.

He went on to claim he had invested “the best part of £100,000” in Poole through cash and work on stadium plans and would continue to carry the fight to find a permanent home.

Mitchell told the Daily Echo: “I am still working on projects for Poole Town and have not turned my back on the club at all. People think I have jumped ship because there is nothing in it for me but that is not right.

“I bought a two-year option without knowing the club that well. Once I had learned the pros and cons, I could see it needed further investment and proper direction from the top.

“The investment side was something I was happy to get involved with but not the running of the club because I have never felt anybody could do it better than the vice-chairman.

“My offer was revised and accepted but having given it more thought since the club’s promotion, I wanted to put the money into the club first.

“It would have meant not buying the shares immediately and extending the option. Then, I would have paid the chairman for his shares. That was not what the chairman wanted and we could not reach an agreement but I would still honour that deal.

“I felt the club was in need of the finance and tried to put it first. I didn’t think the chairman wanted to do that, I thought he wanted his money first and I didn’t feel as if it was the right thing to do.

“I have no qualms with the chairman, I just wanted to do things in a different way. That’s not to say my way is right or his way is right, I just feel the club should come first.”

On the prospect of resurrecting the deal, Mitchell continued: “I have not pulled out, we just could not reach an agreement on how to do the deal.

“If the chairman came to me and said ‘let’s do it your way’, I would do it. If he can come to terms with the proposal I put to him, I would be more than happy.

“It was Clive who declined that. If he thinks that is the right thing to do then it is not for me to criticise but I think the whole structure needs some careful thought, whether that is just to maintain the level we are at or even go back to the level we were at before. There has to be some sort of reshuffle. It needs direction from one person and that person is Chris but he is not in a position to do it. He needs to be given that role (chairman) and if I was in charge, he would be.

“Chris continuously works for the club. He is the chewing gum, everything sticks to him and if he wasn’t there it would fall apart in my opinion.

“He is invaluable, I have never known anyone so dedicated to a football club. It has been his life and he deserves a medal. He should be in a position of authority.”

Robbins politely declined to comment.