In the wake of Friday’s dramatic events at Dens Park, politicians and fans across the city divide were united in their hope that Dundee FC would emerge from the crisis and retake their place in the top echelons of Scottish football.
As reported in Saturday’s Courier, the Dundee FC Supporters Society expressed its “deep sadness” at the club falling into administration for the second time.
A statement said, “The society acknowledges the human cost involved in this process and the resulting impact that this has on everyone involved at the club, our supporters, the community at large and football itself.
“The society would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the employees who will leave the club in the coming days for their services to Dundee FC and wish every one of them good fortune in any new venture they undertake.”
It added that it wanted to reassure fans it was in “direct, ongoing contact” with the administrator and would leave no stone unturned in its efforts to safeguard the club’s immediate future.
It said, “The response from the public has so far surpassed all expectations, but we cannot stress enough that this level of commitment will be required moving forward if we are to emerge from the administration process successfully.”
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said his thoughts were with the players and staff whose jobs are on the line, adding, “This is a personal tragedy for them. Other clubs have managed to rise phoenix-like from the ashes and I hope that will happen with Dundee FC.
“The best solution would be for the supporters to own the club.”
As a supporter of Dundee United Mr FitzPatrick said it was good for the city to have two teams and the fans of both clubs would be sorry if the friendly rivalry ever came to an end.
Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie said, “This is an absolute tragedy and hugely disappointing for the supporters who dug deep into their pockets to help the club when this happened only a few years ago.
“Whatever eventually comes out of the administration process I hope it will bring stability to the club and allow it to survive in such a way that we are not faced with the same situation in another few years’ time.”
Dundee West MP Jim McGovern said fans of any team would be sorry about what is happening to Dundee.
He said, “I’m a Celtic supporter but if you’re a football fan at all you don’t like to see something like this. I know a lot of United fans who want to see Dundee back in the Premier League for the derby games.”
He added, “My mother, Alice, was brought up as a Dundee supporter in the 50s when Dundee won the League Cup two years in a row and when my family moved back to Dundee from Glasgow I used to go to Dens Park one week and Tannadice the next.
“I very much hope that Dundee can come back from this as they did a few years ago.”
TV star and high-profile United fan Lorraine Kelly said, “I’d love to see Dundee get back on track and back in the Premier League. It would be great to get back to the days when we had derbies and when you had an away game you just had to cross the road.
“The fans have stuck with them through some really troubled times and they deserve for things to get better. I do wish them all the best.”
Alan Mitchell, chief executive of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce, said, “When a business gets into difficulties like this our first thoughts are with the individual employees.
“It is obviously a difficult period and we sincerely hope that the business will be restored. The sooner this is resolved, the better.”
Lord Provost John Letford called the situation “an absolute disaster” for the city, the fans and the staff.
He said, “It has been a great thing for any city to have two prominent football teams and I sincerely hope that something can be done to save the club.
“This runs very deep we are in the middle of a recession and football means a lot to people.”
He added, “Dundee FC has a rich history and it would be dreadful if that came to an end. The supporters have tried very hard to keep the club going and I feel for them.
“They must be extremely angry that it has come to this.”