Ashford Town are unlikely to be playing football this season, according to new sole owner Tony Betteridge.

Mr Betteridge emerged victorious from the court-room battle with co-owner Don Crosbie on Thursday after winning a sealed bid and taking over the running with the newly-formed company Ashford Town (Kent) Football Club.

However, the club remains in the hands of administrators and with the Kent League season beginning this weekend it leaves Mr Betteridge with little chance of getting things sorted in time.

He said: "The worst thing for a new company playing football in the Kent League is to be doing it without a proper structure.

"It sounds straightforward enough to just send a team out to play football on a Saturday but anyone who is involved in the business knows that’s not the case.

"I had hoped things would have moved on a bit more quickly and that I would see things a little more clearly now but we’re still in a state of limbo and consequently I am coming around to accepting the inevitable that it is too late to get everything in place in time."

Mr Betteridge has moved to reassure fans that the Nuts & Bolts would be back for the following season.

"I honestly believe we will be playing football next season (2011/12) and I’ll be doing everything I possibly can to be playing in the Kent League," he said.

"The problem now is the time issue and the fact that things are completely in disarray in every element of the football club and the business."

The new owner admits that he hasn’t spoke to manager Steve Lovell since Friday.

"My situation then is my situation now," he said. "Between Friday and Monday nothing happens in business and I said the moment I know something I would get back to him. That’s where we are at the moment."

Mr Betteridge has yet to confirm officially that moves to play this season have failed but, without a secretary and any structure in place, it seems unlikely he would be able to get things up and running in time.

"If we were to play football next Saturday then the chaos that would result would be too great to be able to cope with and manage," he said.

"If the club is in turmoil then everything on the pitch would be in turmoil. It’s better to start right than in chaos. My intentions are to get this club on a proper footing."

He is intent on seeing Maidstone United, however, remaing at Homelands, providing the time-scale works for both parties.

"I’m hoping to persuade Maidstone to come back to Ashford," said Mr Betteridge.

"They’ve got their own deadline and they are waiting for confirmation but until the legal bits are in place I am not in a position to make an agreement."

Although the Kent League season gets under way this Saturday, if Ashford are admitted to the league it is unlikely that they will be required to play a league game until August 21 as the league would have to give sufficient notice to schedule a fixture.

Comment on this story below.