PAUL McCarthy has confirmed he is “speaking to some pedigree football people” regarding possible involvement at Winchester City.

Rumours are rife that the former boxer is about to relinquish control of the club for financial reasons after four-and-a-half years at the helm.

But although McCarthy admits there has been interest from people wanting to take the Southern One South & West club off his hands, he says his preferred option is to find someone to share the load – possibly as joint owners.

Speaking on behalf of himself and wife, Bernie, the club’s hard-working chairwoman/secretary, McCarthy said: “All I can say at this stage is that we’re staying with the club at the moment.

“We still love Winchester and we’ve put a lot of money and man hours into it.

“The club’s staying in the Southern League next year, which is great, and the ideal thing is to bring in someone who loves football to help us run it.

“In the current economic climate, this is the worst time you would want to own a football club.

“Running Winchester City takes up a lot of time for less than the minimum wage, but we do it for the good of the club and the community.

“I love Winchester City and I don’t want to leave, but I may take a lesser role.

“I’ve been speaking to some pedigree football people who may want to help the club and maybe a take a piece of it.

“It’s possible we could share ownership but, at this stage, that’s putting the cart before the horse because there’s still a lot of talking to do.

“Bernie and I need someone to take the strain off us, but we will not walk away.

“I’ll still be there in some capacity for most games.” Winchester – away to leaders Poole Town tomorrow - are now carrying the weight of the entire division on their shoulders following Bishops Cleeve’s midweek win over Abingdon.

But with Sholing voluntarily dropping back to the Sydenhams Wessex ranks next season, there will be no relegation this term.

The only threat to Winchester retaining their South & West status appeared to be ground grading.

But having initially doubted the club’s ability to foot the bill for hard-standing around the pitch, McCarthy said: “We’ve got that covered now and Winchester will stay in the Southern League.”

Striker Clive Makoni was due to sign on a permanent basis yesterday following his release from AFC Bournemouth and City have welcomed holding midfielder Ryan Woodford back to the fold from Horsham.

McCarthy’s centre-back son Conor is rated “touch and go” for the Poole trip due to an ongoing thigh injury.