NEVILLE Neville will walk away from Bury Football Club just days after steering them from liquidation writes Chris Hall

The Save Our Shakers chairman has revealed he will not continue to help run the club he has done so much to save.

The SOS appeal trust last week agreed a settlement with creditors to take control of the Gigg Lane outfit, which looked doomed until Neville put an 11th-hour rescue package together.

But now he will resist the temptation to become a member of the new-look board of directors and help run the club where he worked as commercial manager up to last year.

Instead he has this week told chairmen Fred Mason and John Smith that he intends to step down as SOS leader as soon as the finer points of the takeover are completed.

"I always said from the first day that I would only do this until the end of May and then I would go back to my own life," he said.

"I'm winding things up from a contractual point of view and that should take a couple of weeks. Then I will step down with immediate effect. I wasn't really tempted to help run the club. I was brought in initially to try and get the club through until next season and I have done what I promised to do.

"I never had a thought of going back. My life's elsewhere now, although I obviously have a great love for Shakers."

But Neville admitted he will remain in takeover negotiations with Sale Sharks boss Brian Kennedy, who is pondering buying Bury and moving his rugby union team to Gigg Lane next season.

"The situation's not changed with Brian," he said.

"He has said to me that we will have an answer in the next two or three weeks. I will obviously continue the discussions I started with him a couple of weeks ago but it will be the board of directors who make the final decision."

"Brian is one of the nicest men I've met. I would have no worries at all about him taking over the football club. He's a very honest guy who obviously looks at things with a more commercial interest, so he can give us an honest decision. That's the way the man is."

News that the Sharks could move north of Manchester has been met by angry protests from fans at Heywood Road, who launched their own 'SOS - Don't Bury Sale' campaign after their final game of the season last week.

Kennedy could now face a hot reception when he attends a fans' meeting next week, with 53 per cent of supporters believed to be against the Bury buy-out.

"There will always be some fans who want to stay where they are," said Kennedy.

"We have to listen to them and take their feelings into account. That's why I have agreed to meet them.

"We would love to stay in the area but there's no place to stay. That is what we are going to discuss. We are going to have a good open forum and hopefully agree a way forward."