Former Notts County director Sven-Goran Eriksson believes the club will now struggle to ever achieve ambitions of Premier League football. Munto Finance took charge of County in the summer but now ownership has passed to a consortium led by former Lincoln chairman Ray Trew, who have more limited ambitions and finance.

The Swede told BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek programme: "When I came first it was a dream, it was a big project, and I liked it very much. We thought it was genuine and it seemed to be genuine in the beginning, but in the end there was no money and they disappeared.

"They seem to be fake people, all of them. They just disappeared without any explanation. I feel they cheated the whole club, all the fans, the players, coaching staff, everyone.

"I don't know where they are today. They never phoned me back.

"They just went away and left the club with big problems, lots of debts, and myself and the chairman Peter Trembling tried extremely hard to bring investors to the club and people to take over.

"We were close many times but at the end it ended up as it did unfortunately."

Of the new owners, Eriksson added: "They made it very clear it's not going to be a project to try to take Notts County to the Premier League, maybe not even to the Championship, and that's why I was there."

The club are seventh in League Two, but with games in hand on the teams above them, and Eriksson said: "I think they can be promoted this season.

"If you get promoted to a higher division, you have to invest money, and I don't think that will happen, I'm sure it will not."