Jim Leishman said last night that hopes of a rescue package for Dunfermline are dwindling and that administration looks increasingly likely.
The due diligence process has been completed and the consortium of fans and local business people trying to save the club will receive a report today, but Leishman said some of the potential investors had "expressed concerns".
Herald Sport revealed yesterday that the Dunfermline directors are seeking administration to protect the club from liquidation. A winding-up order has been served on behalf of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs over a £134,000 tax bill and if it is not paid by 5pm on Monday a liquidator will be appointed.
"The administration option is up to Gavin Masterton [the majority shareholder]," said Leishman, the club's director of football. "We are not in control of that. Gavin has to come to a solution he thinks is right for the club."
Working capital would still be required to keep Dunfermline going through administration, even with radically cut costs, although Herald Sport understands one potential source of external funding exists. Leishman added: "We had investors in place but they have expressed concerns and we have been trying to answer their questions. We have to get the green light from the due diligence, but that might be too late now. I thought we were making great progress but something crops up and you take two steps back – but you keep fighting on for the football club: this is my passion, my second home."
The players have been talking to the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland about their rights, should Dunfermline be liquidated. They would not be able to sign for other clubs this season after March 31.
"The players have taken legal advice from the union and that is quite right, because there is huge concern over their future," said Jim Jefferies, the manager.
"If this club was to go to the wall then these boys would not be able to play for anyone else until next season. They have already struggled for months and there is no sign of the rest of February's wages but their concern is ahead. How will they earn money through the rest of the season and the summer?
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article