Businessman Mark Campbell outlines his vision for Falkirk FC future

The 46-year-old Englishman, who was also looking to buy Sunderland FC, has ambitious plans for the Bairns and is “90 per cent confident” the deal will be done.

He stressed the need for a “Premiership club to have Premiership facilities” as he plots the League One side’s return to the top flight.

His emergence as the frontrunner has been met with scepticism in some quarters, with fans asking why Falkirk and what is in it for him, while social media was rife with rumours over his business dealings.

However, he attempted to alleviate fears through holding two Q&A sessions with the fans on Monday.

Mr Campbell said: “I’ve got nothing to hide. I’ve came up twice here today to let people know that you can ask anything about me.

“If I’ve not explained much about who I am then trust me, you will get to know who I am in the coming months when we are having fun at this football club.

“We’ve gone through due diligence with the English Football League, we were spending £60 million with Sunderland. If those things that have been said were true, we wouldn’t have got that far in the process.

“There are things that are posted on social media that are nothing to do with me.”

He outlined his vision for Falkirk, which included the building of a fourth stand at the Falkirk Stadium, reinstating the club’s youth academy, and building a hotel.

He will bring in John Park as the club’s football director to oversee the recruitment and development, while he will be running the business affairs, assuming there are no hitches in the due diligence process and the deal goes through.

More: Pages 84 & 85