THE future of English Premier League side Manchester Phoenix has been thrown into doubt after their owner stepped away from the financially-stricken club at the weekend.

With Swindon Wildcats set to play host to Manchester this coming Saturday, as well as two trips to Manchester before Sunday, February 5, it is uncertain at this stage whether those fixtures will go ahead as planned.

Neil Morris, who has been affiliated with the club since 2003, put out a statement on Saturday, titled ‘end of an era’, where he outlined the fiscal problems the club had which has led to the team’s import players all being asked to leave.

In the statement, Morris explains that ‘individuals’ were looking at putting together a rescue package for Manchester Phoenix over the weekend, having had potential investors pull out of their association with the club over adverse publicity on social media.

“The club did get two weeks behind with its wages with our four senior British players and the three imports, which the guys were fantastic about and agreed to carry on while I got a new investor involved,” said Morris, who described the public response as a ‘social media holocaust’.

“Unfortunately that new investor would only put in half of the money that the club needed to finish the season.

“They said that Manchester Phoenix now has good visibility for the wrong reasons. Although they still want to build a new ice facility in Manchester; after this week, politically, they could not be involved with the Phoenix.

“There are some individuals looking at putting together a rescue package for the club over the weekend which I will help with all I can.

“This is the first time I have ever looked to the corner for the towel. I just cannot go on.”

Manchester, who moved to Deeside in North Wales from their Altrincham home last season while plans for a new 3,000 seater arena in Manchester city centre went through, found themselves playing at the Flyde Coastal Ice Arena in Blackpool this season.

Only last week, the club announced they were on the move again, this time to Silverblades Ice Rinks’ Widnes Ice facility, with the planning process for a temporary home taking longer than expected.

Phoenix played in Widnes at the weekend, falling to an 11-5 defeat at home to Guildford Flames before travelling to Peterborough Phantoms on Sunday night, where they lost 7-0.