BURY Council, which has announced a planned £50,000 sponsorship deal for the Shakers, is putting its shirt on a club takeover by the Supporters Trust.

For it has emerged that the offer by the local authority is tied to a condition that the Trust's bid to buy Bury FC is accepted by the administrators.

The disclosure comes on the eve of administrators RSM Robson Rhodes returning to the High Court today(Fri April 26) to seek a one-month extension.

This will allow them to hopefully conclude a deal to buy the club. The Trust is one of several "interested parties" bidding to save the Shakers.

Others rumoured to be in the frame are Irish entrepreneur John Courtenay, who has also been trying to buy Carlisle United, and Sale Sharks Rugby Union Club owner Brian Kennedy.

The council's one-year £50,000 deal is to have its name and logo on the Shakers' kit. The cash is scheduled to be paid once the club's long-term survival plans are in place.

But it has emerged that the local authority's proposed sponsorship is "in the event that the club's administrators accept the bid submitted by the Supporters Trust".

The council is endorsing the Trust's bid because they say it backs the authority's aims and objectives and its key strategies relating to social inclusion, sport and recreation and promotion of the borough.

Joint administrator Mr Matthew Dunham said: "We've got interested parties willing to invest in the club and hopefully we can get an extension until May 30."