We are now at the planning stage, to see if we can get it approved,” said Wyness. “That decision will be reached very shortly. Work will start very quickly then after that if it is approved.

“The planning process is very complicated. There are lots of different factors. There is definitely a chance that it may not get through in the way we want it to.”

“It could get called in by the government office. If that does happen, it may jeopardise the whole thing. It’s a very serious issue for us.”

“Plan B at the minute is just being here at Goodison but that will give us longer term problems, as we have always known,” he said.

“There isn’t the opportunity to develop Goodison in the way we would have hoped, so the new stadium is crucial for us to go forward.”