SHAUN LOWTHORPE Norwich City's board of directors last night said it was time to forget talk of boardroom shake-ups and focus on the football field and the battle to lift the Canaries out of the relegation mire.

SHAUN LOWTHORPE

Norwich City's board of directors last night said it was time to forget talk of boardroom shake-ups and focus on the football field and the battle to lift the Canaries out of the relegation mire.

The club yesterday issued a joint statement by the board categorically denying majority shareholders Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones were about to sell out to fellow directors Andrew and Sharon Turner.

And they promised that fans would be able to put their questions about what is really going on upstairs at the club during next Thursday's annual general meeting.

The move comes a day after club chief executive Neil Doncaster had tried to quell the takeover talk, which had surfaced in a national newspaper.

The Turners joined the board earlier this year handing over a £2m interest-free loan to help avoid a sell-off of players.

That appointment needs to be rubberstamped at the AGM meeting.

But in the wake of Peter Grant's departure on Tuesday the rumour mill has gone into overdrive about a new boardroom team taking the helm at Carrow Road - focusing on the Turners and their involvement.

There have also been suggestions that the Turners could be a front for another would-be investor, with some pointing at Peter Cullum, a millionaire businessman and former Norwich City youth player, who runs Towergate Partnership, an insurance giant worth at least £700m, being touted as a possible Roman Ambramovich style benefactor.

Last night, in a joint statement, the club moved to quell the boardroom transfer talk once and for all.

“The board wishes to make it clear that there is no truth whatsoever in the newspaper speculation suggesting that Delia Smith and Michael Wynn Jones are 'taking a back seat' and relinquishing their position as majority shareholders to their fellow directors Andrew and Sharon Turner,” the statement said.

“Every member of the board is passionately committed to working together to do everything possible to lift Norwich City up the table and give their fellow Canary fans the football they deserve.

“This process starts with the crucial task of choosing the right manager to take the club forward.

“The board will not be issuing any further statements on this matter until the AGM on Thursday October 18 when as is always the case directors will be happy to answer any questions our shareholders might have.”

Norwich are third from bottom in the Championship with eight points from 10 games.

Now the hope is that a manager can be found who can preserve the club's status in football's second tier and take the club forward to a possible Premiership return.