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Mansfield owner Keith Haslam has accused chairman James Derry of reducing his offer for the club.
With Derry's deadline for his offer due today, Haslam has released a statement on the Stags' official site claiming that he will not decide whether to accept the offer until next week: "I have a meeting tomorrow and over the weekend, and the decision will probably roll into next week. I can't put a time on when a decision will be made but things are moving forward. We can't move any quicker than we are."
The pair agreed a deal six weeks ago but Derry's current bid, submitted on Monday, is claimed to be vastly different to the original deal: "Monday was the first firm offer we've had apart from the one which we agreed on October 5th, but their new offer has dramatically changed from that inital bid.
"I don't think anybody who has a property can turn around to the bidder and just accept it without considering it. Me and my parties are now evaluating certain figures which they have put forward and this takes time. But also, it is such a major departure from the offer agreed on October 5.
"It's now down to whether our number crunching comes out the right way and if we feel it is a reasonable offer. Like I said earlier, if the the offer that we signed up to in October had been stuck to, we would have agreed a deal by now, so I don't think you can say it is my side's fault. We are just looking to make the right decision."
Haslam took over the club and ground in 1993 for £1, and agreed to sell the club to Derry for £500,000 in October along with a £200,000 rental on the ground.
