"The spanner in the works is that I'm not entirely sure that the board that will meet in October – probably for the last time – will even want to make a decision," O'Rourke told the new FTBL Podcast.

"You'll have other stakeholders suggest that it will be logical to wait for the next board to be constituted to go through the work the FFA management team has done and then make their decision based on that.

"I'm very clear on the options that face me – but I'm not very clear on what that board will decide."

According to sources close to the A-League clubs, a delay in the decision looks almost inevitable...which may then leave the successful bids with limited time to assemble a quality squad, forcing a further decision to push back expansion for yet another season to 2020/21.

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"We should all know on October 17, and if it is that we are going to push ahead and announce expansion then we'll do so," said O'Rourke.

"And if it's that we're going to delay the decision or delay expansion or whatever, then we will communicate that to the bidders very quickly.

"But at this point in time, I haven't heard anyone say that they don't want to expand.

"Even all the stakeholders that were in dispute with the existing board have said to me privately and also in our working groups that expansion of the A-League is a must."

He added: "What I would say is that it is not going to put expansion off.

"That is an option that is not even to be considered by anyone."

Listen to the full podcast for more on what O'Rourke is looking for in bidders, what went wrong with the A-League last season, and how he and his team are planning to fix things this season and who they have been working with – and the truth behind the infamous "music at corners" row!