‘Devastated’ Hardy says he wants to ‘get back to the corporate world’

Alan Hardy, the owner of Notts County, says he has been in talks with investors since before Christmas over selling the club, and that he is looking forward to getting back to ‘what he does best’.

An emotional Hardy appeared on the BBC’s East Midlands Today saying he was “devastated and mortified” after he mistakenly posted an intimate picture on his Twitter account on Sunday morning.

On Sunday evening, the Magpies announced via a statement that Hardy had put the club up for sale.

In the interview, a visibly upset Hardy said he had “done his best” for Notts County over the last two years and that he had invested over £10m of his own cash into the club, but admitted that he has made some “huge mistakes” on Twitter.

He said: “I viewed Twitter as being in the pub with your mates having some banter, whether it was Forest fans or Mansfield fans, but in the cold light of day I got it wrong.”

On his plans to sell the club, Hardy told East Midlands Today: “I’ve been talking to investors for the last four weeks, since before Christmas. I’ve given my heart and soul to Notts County over the last couple of years, but I’ve taken my eye off the ball with my other businesses, they’ve suffered and I’ve got to get back to what I do best which is in the corporate world.”

Earlier this week it emerged that Hardy’s fit out and interiors firm Paragon had won £15m worth of new contracts in January so far.