FANS of Chorley Lynx are rallying round in a bid to keep the beleaguered club in Chorley as talks were held yesterday between the Lynx board and Blackpool FC concerning a bid to move the club to the resort.

Lynx fans aim to form a Lynx Supporters' Action Group (L-SAG) with the aim of asserting their desire to see the club remain in Chorley and help Lynx secure sufficient finance to remain operational.

They also hope to establish a Supporters' Trust in order to provide on-going financial and volunteer resources to the club. The trust would aid the club in community development activities possibly by using grant aid to fund a community development officer

The group has already contacted the council and Chorley MP, Lindsay Hoyle, to request practical help to support the initiative.

An online petition has been set up on the www.chorleylynx.com website. A spokesman for the group said: "We'd like to thank all the RL fans who have already registered their support for the Chorley Lynx. It's been an encouraging response.

"We are aiming to do our utmost to keep the Lynx operational and ideally we want the team to remain in the town, but it's a tall order and we are going to need support from private and public sources.

"With a move to Blackpool being mooted and the possibility of a move to Lancaster also being discussed, Chorley fans face a real fight if they want to keep hold of their rugby club.

"In order to move forward the group, we would welcome volunteers, especially people with organisational skills who are willing to actively participate in organising meetings, fundraising events, leafleting campaigns, lobbying and generally banging the drum for the Lynx."

Former Chorley Sporting Club manager Dennis Ramsdale welcomed the move but warned fans they would have to be realistic about the options open to the club.

He said: "It is fantastic people are prepared to put in the effort to keep the Lynx in Chorley. We know it means a lot to people here and it is great they feel so passionate about it.

"It is still possible we could stay in Chorley as we are capable of generating our own finances although we would still probably need some outside financial backing."

He added, however, that there may be a greater potential to increase commercial revenue if the club moved to Blackpool and that a sound financial base for the club was imperative .

You can register your support for the supporters' campaign by signing their virtual petition at www.chorleylynx.com