COUGARS' new major investor this week issued a 'Let's get together' invitation to disgruntled shareholders.

"We want your input ..this is not a showdown," declared Hami Patel. "We want to build this club into something local people can be proud of."

The Leeds businessman has put in £155,000 to buy the club out of administrator Peter O'Hara's hands.

He was assured of getting more than the required 75 per cent of votes at an extraordinary general meeting last Friday. He will take a 90 per cent shareholding though could have effectively taken 100 per cent. He will not be on the board and directors deny claims the move will hand complete control to one man. The direct opposite will be true, they declare.

Mr Patel will tomorrow meet a number of former directors and shareholders who are aggrieved at what they see as shareholders getting shortshrift.

Said ex-chairman Mick O'Neill yesterday: "I'm going along with an open mind and want to see what he (Patel) says. I want to see this thing sorted peacefully and want to make sure the club is OK."

Current chairman Howard Carter stressed this week that the Patel move was 'very much with the blessing of the board."

He says: "The whole essence of Hami Patel is to deny any one person the power.

"There has to be a structure where no one man goes off and makes the decisions alone. It will ensure the club never finds itself in the financial situation it has.

"Nothing in this club can happen unless the board approves. Directors are going to direct the club in a structured way. He has control to make sure the board runs it successfully.

"It will be a year of consolidation. We have to see our budgets stack up. It would be wonderful to say we are top of the league but we have to be realistic."

Added Mr Patel: "I believe we can make it a business success. I'm not a philanthropist by any stretch.

"I believe if we can get people here we can make the club into a focal point."

Defeat by Trinity ..Keith Reeves reports Page 15

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.