Shelbourne's acting chairman Finbarr Flood has stepped down from his post with immediate effect.

He took over the running of the Eircom League champions on a caretaker basis in the absence of the club's chief executve, Ollie Byrne, who was taken ill in January.

Flood, who is a former chairman of Shelbourne, said that he had been brought in to faciliate a package of measures that would enable Shelbourne to continue to operate as a National League club.

However, business pressures and his own health problems meant that he could not continue in the role.

"From the outset, I made it clear to both Ollie and his management committee that combining the role of chairman of a professional football club with my other business and personal commitments is not possible, given my own recent medical history," said Flood.

"I would like to thank everyone at Shelbourne FC for their support over the past difficult weeks.

"I sincerely hope that Ollie is speedily returned to health and that a mechanism can be found to ensure the continuity of our famous club."

The announcement is further bad news for the club which is in the midst of a financial crisis.

Members of the committee that oversees the FAI's club licensing system met last week to consider whether, as a result of the financial crisis that has enveloped the club, Shelbourne should be stripped of the licence they were granted late last year.

The committee is to reconvene next week and there is a strong possibility that the club will face stiff sanctions or even expulsion from the reconstituted League of Ireland