SUPPORTERS’ Trust leaders say they do not want to go ‘daggers drawn’ against Bolton Wanderers — but will not back down in a dispute over legal protection for the Macron Stadium.

Whites owner Ken Anderson last week urged the trust to ‘save the club a great deal of cash and time’ by not fighting attempts to have the stadium and surrounding land declassified as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

While the ACV is in place, the stadium itself, the Whites Hotel, offices and car parking land around the ground cannot be sold without public notification.

A private council hearing to decide whether or not the ACV will be lifted is scheduled for October 2.

Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust chairman, Daniel Izza, said: “We are certainly not looking to stop the club from buying assets.

“The ACV is there as protection for the club, it is nothing personal against the current owners. The ACV is now common among football clubs, so we aren’t suggesting anything unusual.

“It means that should the supporters have the opportunity to buy an asset in a commercial scenario, they have the first option. It does not prevent a sale, but it ensures that there is transparency in any transaction. We are not looking to go daggers drawn against the club and the ACV is not something that the club should be afraid of, because it is part of the community as well.”

Mr Anderson claimed that the ACV is ‘fundamentally restrictive to the progress we are trying to make at the club’, saying it could hamper his refinancing plans.

However the supporters’ trust says the ACV listing is there to protect the club’s long-term future.

Ian Bridge, trust founder and former chairman, added: “If the owner wanted to sell an asset and could put forward that it was of benefit to the club’s long-term sustainability then we would not stand in the way. We are disappointed that this has become a contentious issue when all we are trying to do is safeguard the club’s future.

“It is not a personal vendetta against the current owners, it would be there no matter who owned the club. To ask the trust to back off without giving any substance as to why goes against the purpose of the ACV.”