Dumbarton chairman John Steele has welcomed the recent change of ownership at the club as an opportunity to begin a “bright new future”.

Cognitive Capital Ltd (CCL) bought out 100 per cent of the shares of previous owners Brabco 736 Ltd last month.

As reported on page 10, the new owners say a stadium at Young’s Farm is back on their agenda after a previous application by Brabco was rejected by West Dunbartonshire Council.

Sons are currently battling to avoid relegation to the SPFL’s bottom tier through the League Two play-offs: they must beat Stranraer tonight (Tuesday), and then either Elgin or Edinburgh City in the two-legged final, if they’re to retain their place in League One in 2021-22.

But despite that immediate challenge, CCL, and its directors Henning Kristofferson, a Norwegian financial services entrepreneur, and architect Matthew Atkinson, also have bold ambitions for a return to full-time football and to establish the club as a stable force in the championship.

Mr Steele says he hopes to have more interaction with the new owners after being left in the dark by Brabco for much of their time at the club, and the former Helensburgh solicitor is optimistic of what is to come.

He said: “The takeover means we have the prospect of a bright new future.

“Over the last few years, we’ve been pretty moribund. Now we have an opportunity to hopefully move onwards and upwards and that is certainly the basis on which the board is operating.

“It’s probably fair to say we’ve been encouraged by the noises and the input that’s been given to us by Henning Kristoffersen.

“My discussions with Henning and his wife, Kamila have now been going on for between one and two years. I am personally persuaded that they do have good intentions for the club.

“Throughout all this process they have expended a lot of money; not only have they been engaging with us but behind the scenes they have been trying to resurrect the original Brabco plan.

“They have invested a lot of time and money and I am personally encouraged that with the way the last few weeks have gone results wise, they are still committed and made the jump to ownership.

“I am persuaded that they have the wherewithal and the desire to deliver a lot of what they have set out and I am supportive of that.

"My instinct is that is deliverable.”

According to a statement from the group, Mr Kristoffersen will oversee all footballing matters, using his global contacts to build links with international clubs and players, especially in Scandinavia.

Mr Steele commented: “My only understanding is that as far as the football dynamic is concerned is that is Henning’s area of responsibility.

“Quite how he is going to discharge that, I don’t know, and that won’t become clear until we have our first meeting with them when the season finishes.

“I don’t know specifically of Henning’s Norwegian involvement but I do know, and we’ve checked this out, that he has had a football involvement not just in Norway but in Scandinavia.”