OLDHAM Athletic fans are surprisingly split on whether they are happy with John Sheridan as head coach while Abdallah Lemsagam remains the owner.

The club legend has been offered a new deal, which The Oldham Times understands he has signed, having initially returned to Boundary Park in January on a short-term contract.

Sheridan’s remit at the time was to help the club avoid relegation from the Football League. But with Latics now dropping into the National League for the first time in 115 years, becoming the first former Premier League club to do so, the club’s board of directors see Sheridan as their best chance of promotion at the first attempt.

However, while most fans would back Sheridan to steer the club back to the Football League, the majority are concerned owner Abdallah Lemsagam has ulterior motives and is using Sheridan’s hero status among them to appease supporters amid a prolonged takeover process, and a means of encouraging season ticket sales.

In a statement from the club’s board of directors, released on Monday, it was said that “the club’s owner remains committed to selling the club.”

The statement added: “There is a clear process in place for interested parties. Each bidder has been asked to sign an NDA and provide proof of funds.

“Conversations with those qualified bidders are ongoing and will continue.”

But many fans are sceptical, with some accusing the Moroccan businessman of purposefully pricing the club out of a sale, with an asking price of £6million.

In a poll by The Oldham Times, of the 631 people who voted 46 per cent of them said they would prefer Sheridan to decline the board’s offer, with Lemsagam’s ongoing involvement the over-riding factor in taking that stance.

Others, however, wanted the crisis club to have continuity and a manager who they could get behind, while 18 per cent were undecided.

A statement from fans’ group Push The Boundary read: “The current situation was inevitable given the way the club was being run and it was only John Sheridan that briefly lifted the mood.

“Fans, as usual, have played their part this season in giving Shez and the players everything that we promised them. We have filled grounds up and down the country and sang our hearts out. Throughout this, in return, we have asked the club for transparency and to update us on progress on the sale of the club. We don’t feel the club have held their end of the bargain and given us the best chance to stay up, something that Abdallah committed to when Shez came back.

“That said, we don’t feel that the landscape would be right for Shez to continue unless specific changes were made, i.e. new ownership (and therefore the removal of Mohamed Lemsagam as the Sporting Director) and we feel it is inappropriate for the club to use Shez as an incentive for fans to essentially back the board.

“There should be absolutely no obligation on the part of John Sheridan at current time, and we don’t have any faith that he would be treated in the appropriate manner by those that remain, whether they are looking to sell or not.

“We would encourage fans not to be drawn in by the prospect of false promises. It is time for actions, not words from the club.”