Fresh from the glory of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, the Tykes can secure their Coca-Cola Championship status on Saturday if they beat Leicester City at Oakwell.

For Shepherd, who has been at the helm for three years, there would be no better way to end a season that is already guaranteed to go down in club history.

Victories over Liverpool and Chelsea have cast Barnsley back into the national spotlight for the first time since playing in the Premier League, only a narrow defeat to Cardiff City denied the club a first FA Cup final appearance for 96 years.

Shepherd, however, has suffered from heart problems during the campaign and is due to discuss the merits of bypass surgery with his doctors later this month.

At 73, he wants to devote more time to his family which means the club's owner Patrick Cryne will have to find a suitable replacement.

Cryne admits that will be no easy task.

When Shepherd was drafted onto the board in April 2004, the club was losing an average of £70,000 a week.

It now operates at a profit and would have done so regardless of the £2m bonus from this season's FA Cup.

"It goes without saying that I am immensely proud of the achievements and I am pleased that I will be leaving the club in better shape than it was when I became chairman," he said.

"We have won promotion, avoided relegation last season, and got to the semi-final of the FA Cup.

"I have also done a great deal to return the club to financial health.

"But, as you get old, you start to think a little more about the other things in life," he added. "My heart can't really stand up to regular 500-mile round trips to places like Colchester.

"Football is a time consuming business and it has been hard work, particularly at the beginning when there were so many issues to resolve. When I started I was at work for six days a week, going to home games and away with the team, but I have enjoyed it because it is a labour of love.

"I don't think we are going to be relegated and it would be nice to go out on a high," he added.

Not many in his position walk away from football with their pride intact but Shepherd donated his services free of charge and has acted in the best interests of the club.

Cryne, who opted for Shepherd as chairman after parting company with Peter Ridsdale, said: "Gordon has done a fantastic job and every Barnsley fan should be grateful for the contribution he has made in putting this club back on an even keel.

"It has been a difficult balancing act and being chairman of a football club can be incredibly stressful.

"In the modern era, there is unremitting criticism and just occassional praise.

"I am going to miss him but it would not have been fair to impose any more pressure on him due to his medical condition."

Cryne ruled out the possibility of taking over as chairman personally and, with only Barry Taylor now left on the board, has begun the search for new directors.

"I will have to do something to strengthen the board," he admitted. "But it is difficult to find people with the calibre of Gordon Shepherd. Where we are at the end of the season will condition a lot of the decisions that need to be taken."