THE ferocious hatchet job on the high earners in the Dundee camp leaves the club facing a mammoth task even to see out the administration period. Unless the hitherto peripheral figure of Giovanni di Stefano moves into centre stage and does something positive, Dundee will have to tackle the rest of the season with a vastly reduced squad.

Worse, the staff might well be cut further when the January transfer window opens and players like Nacho Novo, Gavin Rae, Lee Wilkie and Julian Speroni become available at presumably bargain prices.

With their fine start to the season - until recently they were in the top six - Dundee's chances of retaining their Premier status still look good but they could struggle to hold on to their comfortable position as the season progresses.

In what was a traumatic day for everyone connected with the club, the man whose task it will be to soldier on with a depleted battalion, Jim Duffy, was understandably depressed, even if he himself remains in employment. He said: ''We knew major cuts had to be made and it's very severe. Suffice to say, it's a difficult and emotional time and the fact I'm remaining at the club for the time being gives me no consolation whatsoever.

''So many members of staff have been sacked and I take no satisfaction from keeping my job in these circumstances.

''It was devastating to tell people they've lost their jobs but I decided it was better coming from me because I've got a relationship with them.

''It's not just the players who are hurt though, the other people who work here, the office staff, are also being sacked and won't receive their wages.

''I'd like to send a message to all football clubs to have a look at their finances and if they are contemplating going into administration to clear some of their debts. They should realise how much of a devastating blow it is to people's lives.''

The players' union representative, Fraser Wishart, who has been heavily involved in the dispute with Motherwell over compensation for players sacked when that club went into administration, was surprised to discover the extent of the Dundee dismissals.

''Those sacked may not, under FIFA rules, be able to sign for other clubs immediately - they may have to wait for the window to open in January,'' he said. ''I do not believe that that is fair. The SFA can contact Fifa for special dispensation.

''I would call on the SFA to act unilaterally as these are extraordinary circumstances. The Dundee players who have had their contracts terminated get statutory redundancy payments and nothing else - and are hit by the double-whammy of not being allowed employment elsewhere.

''But at least players have some recourse, unlike other people at the club who are now victims of administration.

''Because of the weak employment laws in this country, the backroom and office staff members who have also been sacked are out of the door, and that is it.''

Wishart has also started preparations for dismissed players to seek out compensation packages when the club comes out of administration, if, indeed, that is the case.

The example of Motherwell, who have survived their administration period to date, could be be encouraging for Dundee supporters but their owner, John Boyle, wrote off an (pounds) 11m debt owed to him by the club and they were also fortunate enough to avoid relegation last season because of SPL rules that debarred Falkirk from promotion.

The remarkable recovery by Motherwell - they are in the top four of the SPL after going on run of six games without defeat - should not be seen, however, as a template for Dundee or any other team to follow.

If Terry Butcher and his young team, after recovering from the trauma of the dismissal of 19 players when their administration was announced, have gone on to exciting things, they have done so only on the back of a piece of good fortune that could not have been included in the gameplan.

The Fir Park side finished bottom of the SPL table last season and ought, therefore, to have been doing their thing in the first division since August. They avoided that simply because Falkirk, who would have taken their place, did not meet the criteria demanded by the SPl.

If they had been relegated, Motherwell's chances of survival would have been slim indeed and they have been blessed by a pack of rising young stars who have developed with the enforced first team experience that they have enjoyed.

All of that represents a scenario that cannot be duplicated easily.

In and out

WHO'S GOING

Craig Burley, Beto Carranza, Fabian Caballero, Juan Sara, Georgi Nemsadze, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Mark Robertson, Jamie Langield, Gavin Beith, Barry Forbes,Tom Cowan, Kris Brash, Colin Boylan, Matt Engle, Steven Vanderdeyle

Who stays . . . for now

Julian Speroni, Barry Smith, David Mackay, Tom Hutchinson, Lee Wilkie, Gavin Rae, Steven Milne, Jonay Hernandez, Nacho Novo, Brent Sacho, Lee Mair, Steven Robb, Derek Soutar, Neil Jablonski, Steve Lovell, Garry Brady, Callum Macdonald, Duncan McLean, Mark

Fotheringham, Bobby Linn, Dougie Cameron