Darlington Football Club chairman, Raj Singh, is owed a “substantial amount of money” by the extinction-threatened side.

The joint-administrator called in to run the Blue Square Bet Premier League outfit confirmed last night that Mr Singh was among those who would have to be paid before any sale of the club could be discussed.

And Harvey Madden said it was the size of this debt which will make it difficult to find suitable purchasers and which might lead to the worstcase scenario of liquidation.

“It’s the amount of debt they have got to pay off,” Mr Madden said in reference to any potential suitors.

“They have got to pay off football creditors in full, make some commitment to other creditors as well as the ongoing running of the club.”

Among the creditors are current players, former manager Mark Cooper and his assistant, Richard Dryden.

Mr Singh is also listed as a creditor, although it is not clear how much of the £2.5mplus that he has put into the club since taking the helm in 2009 he wants back.

In fact, last year he hinted that he was prepared to walk away if it meant the survival of the club in the long term.

“The company accountant is calculating the amount at the moment,” said Mr Madden.

“It’s basically anything football-related – the players’ salaries, Mr Cooper and Mr Dryden’s severance – those are the sort of football creditor payments that would to be met if this club were to continue.”

Mr Madden said he had been approached by people inquiring about the sale of the club, but he stressed there was nothing concrete to report.

“I have received tentative inquiries from a number of parties regarding taking over the club, but these are very much embryonic and I am currently exploring all options,” he said.

The club has money enough to fund this weekend’s trip to Barrow, though it required the financial assistance of The Northern Echo and die hard fans to make it as near normal as possible.

What will happen after Saturday though is unclear.

“The process here is that we’d have to judge that rather quickly,” Mr Madden said. “If ultimately the administration purpose, which is to try to sell on and keep people’s jobs and to keep the club going, is not achievable, then unfortunately the club will have to go into liquidation.

“I still think I will be here next week, but whether that is as an administrator or liquidator, time will tell.”

Meanwhile, the club is seeking to renegotiate the transfer deals of some of its former players.

Four years ago, the club sold goalkeeper David Stockdale to Premier League Fulham, while defender Dan Burn made the same move last year and striker Michael Smith was sold to Charlton Athletic last summer.

Each transfer included a number of clauses, including appearance-related fees and sell-on percentages.

Mr Madden said he was consulting lawyers to see if he could renegotiate the clauses to help with short-term cash flow.

Darlington Football Club Rescue Group, a group of businessmen who came together at the end of December, also issued a statement yesterday, though stressed they were not in a position to take over the club immediately.

“Our opening statement made it clear that administration would seriously jeopardise our strategy,” the statement read.

“Nevertheless, the group will continue to work in any way possible to find a solution.

Meetings with the administrator, stadium owners and our Member of Parliament are all scheduled before the weekend.

“If every option to save the current club is exhausted, our group intends to discuss if it should put itself forward as an organisational mechanism to help form a new club.”

􀁧 The Northern Echo stepped in to pay for a coach to take the players to Barrow. Caretaker manager Craig Liddle was due to drive the players by minibus although the company has since withdrawn its vehicle.

Mr Liddle said yesterday: “They are both fantastic gestures.

The Echo’s offer is greatly appreciated.

“On top of that I had a phone call on Wednesday morning saying the supporters have raised money for the players to have a pre-match meal, which in the current climate when money’s tight and Christmas has just been and gone, is fantastic.”