OLDHAM Athletic officials have confirmed that the proposed stadium development at Chadderton’s 80-acre Ferney Field Farm site remains their primary goal.

Speculation mounted in recent days that the club were set to ditch the £20m scheme and redevelop Boundary Park instead, but officials insist they are simply keeping their options open.

Co-owner Simon Blitz told the Advertiser that the Ferney Field scheme remains “100 per cent” the club’s chief objective and that work on the project was progressing, albeit slowly.

“People shouldn’t be alarmed because nothing has really changed in our vision of the way forward,” he said.

“I would imagine that in about 12 months we will have a better idea of what our final decision is likely to be, but there’s no huge rush. Oldham Athletic celebrates 100 years of playing at Boundary Park this year and it will still be around in another hundred years.

“We are simply keeping an open mind at present. A fallback has always been the option to redevelop Boundary Park and only time will tell if that ends up being the route that we go down.”

The Ferney Field venue, bordered by Foxdenton Lane, Hunt Lane and Broadway, was first identified by Latics’ owners as their preferred site in summer 2003.

And Ian Hill – the director tasked with driving the stadium plans forward since then – remains upbeat despite issues surrounding site access, environmental impact and the opposition of some local residents.

“Ferney Field always was and remains our favoured option,” he said.

“We feel that’s the best place not just for the stadium but for everything else that we would like to build alongside it. Obviously there are a lot of big issues to deal with and those are no surprise to us because of the scale of the scheme.

“The main problem has simply been that everything is taking longer than we would ideally have liked. Certain environmental studies on the site could not be arranged quickly enough and so will have to take place in the next autumn and spring, for example. We clearly don’t want the issue dragging on for years but we are continuing with the work on a daily basis.”

LUKE Beckett is expected to be unveiled as Latics’ latest summer signing this week.

Sheffield United turned down the club’s £150,000 bid for the 28-year-old hitman only last month.

But Beckett - who scored six goals in nine games on loan at Boundary Park last season - has since declined a move to Southend and made clear his determination to join Ronnie Moore’s new-look squad.

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