Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston hit out at the decision to invite Dundee into the SPL and revealed that the Pars will consider taking legal action against the game’s governing bodies.
Dunfermline, who were relegated from the top tier at the end of last season, felt they had a strong case to be readmitted into the SPL following Rangers’ dramatic fall from grace.
However, the confirmation that it will be Dundee and not the Pars taking the place of the fallen Ibrox giants has enraged Yorkston although he admitted he was not surprised by the decision following the leak of an email allegedly sent by SFA chief executive Stewart Regan last month in which he said it would be the Dark Blues invited to join the top flight.
The Dunfermline chairman said: ”The news didn’t come as a great surprise considering the decision seems to have been taken several weeks ago.
”I’m not sure why they couldn’t have told us then so we could get set for life in the First Division. Instead, we have been left in limbo and are now at a disadvantage in terms of preparation for the new season.”
He said the subject of legal action was to be discussed at a board meeting on Monday evening, and added: ”Good luck to Dundee but the whole process has been totally unfair. We have had a situation where Stewart Regan has been telling people what will happen before proper procedures have been fulfilled.
”We are probably too far down the road to reverse the decision but we will certainly be looking at pursuing some form of compensation.”
With Dunfermline all but certain to be playing their football in the First Division this season, Yorkston has issued a rallying call to the club’s fans to help provide manager Jim Jefferies with the funds to mount a successful promotion push.
Season ticket sales are well down on last year, largely because of the uncertainty surrounding what division the Pars would be playing in.
Now that matter has been resolved, Yorkston is hoping for a big response from the fans, especially with local derbies against Raith Rovers, Falkirk and Cowdenbeath to look forward to.
He said: ”Last season wasn’t a great one for us but I feel we can now look forward with some optimism. We will have several local derbies which should be great for the fans.
”It is very important that the supporters now get right behind the team.
”I know many of them were holding off from renewing their season tickets because they didn’t want to be part of what they termed a corrupt organisation.
”However, we have listened to their opinions and voted the way they wanted us to. We now need them to really get behind the club.”