Stephen Thompson has declared that his chairmanship of Dundee United is “my priority first and foremost” even as he pursues an interest in Australian club Newcastle Jets.
Thompson, acting on a personal level as part of a business consortium, is leading an attempt to purchase the A-League team, which earlier this week was placed in administration by current owner Nathan Tinkler.
The buyout, which was given a figure of approximately £2.5 million by Tinkler, has raised the prospect of Thompson starting a new life Down Under and leaving his position at Tannadice.
That may or may not happen over time but Thompson said he is firmly focused on his role of United chairman, having talked over plans for next season with manager Jackie McNamara.
He also gave a strong defence of his record.
Thompson said: “It’s not unusual for football club board members to have other business interests and I’m no different.
“There are confidentiality agreements in place regarding the situation in Australia that stop me going into further detail but I want to make it clear that my priority first and foremost is to Dundee United as chairman and a supporter of the club.
“The board and I remain focused on matters here and are supporting the management team in getting our young squad ready for next season.
“Results haven’t gone our way of late but I have had positive meetings with Jackie in recent days about where we are and where we are going and he has the full support of the board in building on the job he started.
“United has a five-year strategy covering football, finance and community. We’re almost two years through it and are already ahead of schedule.
“Of course, we’ve lost good players along the way but we’re developing and bringing in new ones as well as trying to retain others.”
He added: “This club is a place top young managers are motivated to develop top young talent.
“That means at times we’ll be a springboard for some, which is fine if we’re achieving on the pitch and bringing in new talent like Justin Johnson, our most recent young signing.
“In recent years we’ve reached back-to-back cup finals, won the Scottish Cup for only the second time in our history, enjoyed eight consecutive top six finishes and delivered European qualification, all while becoming one of the country’s most prolific producers of homegrown talent.”