Grimsby Town are close to a takeover, as revealed by their official club website last night.

In the late-night announcement, the board of directors of the Lincolnshire side made a statement confirming rumours they're in discussions with 'a number of parties' about a possible takeover.

John Fenty has been chairman of the club for 14 years, having been on the board for 17, but in recent seasons the club has stagnated. Since promotion from the National League three seasons ago they've had three managers and three bottom half finishes in League Two.

The statement wanted to underline the fact that no sale would go through without 'sufficient proof of funding and a compelling, long-term vision' for the future of the Mariners.

In addition to that reassuring message, they also wanted to stress that Michael Jolley's pre-season plans were not being affected, as demonstrated by the signing of Matt Green and of James Hanson.

Grimsby fans reacted positively to the news, trying to understand the timing of it.

The hope is that they might be able to move forward after a couple of tough seasons, including an infamous fans' forum that saw then manager Russell Slade and chairman John Fenty turn on BBC presenter Matt Dean.