Bill Kenwright has pleaded for patience and understanding from Everton fans as he continues his battle to take over the club.

The Goodison Park vice-chairman has been working on a buy-out plan since November, but suffered a body blow recently when main backers HSBC pulled out of talks after they discovered the club would be £20 million in debt by the summer.

Now Kenwright has spoken out in an attempt to boost fans' confidence that he will soon be able to put together a financial package to buy Peter Johnson's 68 per cent holding in the club.

Kenwright said: "The fans have every right to be asking what is going on. There is no easy way to explain the machinations behind trying to raise tens of millions of pounds.

"I remain optimistic that this can be done, but I must ask the fans to understand the complexity and the enormity of such an undertaking."