Belokon the only option for Blackpool says BST

The chairman of Blackpool’s largest supporters’ group has called on the Oystons to “see sense” and hand the club over to Valeri Belokon sooner rather than later.Christine Seddon, chairman of the Blackpool Supporters’ Trust (BST), believes the Oyston family have no other option but to deal with the Latvian millionaire “whether they want to or not”.Her comments follow the latest court hearing, in which the owners of Blackpool Football Club were told to “concentrate” their minds on paying the £25m still owed to Belokon, having already stumped up £10m this month.Describing their evidence as “woeful”, Mr Justice Marcus Smith ordered the Oystons to pay another £10m by 4pm on January 31 followed by two payments of £7.5m by March 30 and May 31.It comes after the Oystons were ordered to buy out Belokon’s shares after operating an “illegitimate stripping” of the club following its promotion to the Premier League in 2010.Seddon said: “Quite where they’re going to find the next £10m is hard to say.“I think this is where Valeri Belokon and his situation comes in because I think the Oystons are going to have to end up dealing with him whether they want to or not.“I can’t see what other options they have got. I would imagine Valeri is very content with what is happening right now.“I believe he wants the club and hopefully it will fall into his lap before too long. TURN TO PAGE 47 From back pageIf they decide to come to an arrangement with Valeri, then it could all happen very quickly.“The thing that will take time is if the Oystons continue to be awkward about it and try to come up with other solutions. If that happen, then it could drag on for a while, so let’s hope they see sense.”During Monday’s High Court hearing, a lawyer acting for the Oyston family told the judge there had been “substantial interest” in the football club but he could not disclose any information because it was “confidential”.Seddon added: “I think there probably is significant interest but at the moment I think it’s just a case of people making enquiries, then sitting back and waiting to see what happens.“No one is going to come charging in offering large sums of money for a football club when they know the owners are up against it and they could probably get it for a knockdown price.“I get the feeling they’re just floundering around and don’t really know what to do. They’ve certainly backed themselves into a corner.“I think they will struggle to find that next £10m because it appeared as though they struggled to find the first £10m.“They secured that money against assets that were frozen and subsequently broke that freezing order, so that didn’t please the judge.”Representatives for Valeri Belokon declined to comment on the hearing, saying now was not the right time.But The Gazette understands that Belokon’s team have appealed his EFL suspension and that it is currently under review.When asked to confirm, the EFL said they do not comment on their Owners’ and Directors’ Test.The Oystons were also approached for comment but once again The Gazette received no reply.