The Dundee Supporters’ Society insist “many questions remain” despite multiple statements from Dens Park in a week the club took centre stage in the drama engulfing Scottish football.
After posting a ‘yes’ vote to allow last week’s SPFL resolution to pass in exchange for firm promises over league reconstruction, managing director John Nelms has faced a backlash from Dark Blues fans regarding the U-turn from last Friday’s intended ‘no’ vote.
That change prompted the Dundee Supporters Association (DSA) to write to Nelms on Thursday to clarify earlier comments.
The Dens chief replied swiftly with a club statement but now the Society – also known as Dee4Life – say there are still questions to be answered about the reversal.
A statement from the Society board said: “The Society directors are relieved that the situation appears to have reached a conclusion subject to the possibility that there could be league reconstruction ahead of season 2020/21.
“Many questions remain relating to the events over the past week. However, it’s important that the matter has now been resolved and hopefully everything possible will be done to minimise the impact of the exceptional circumstances on Scotland’s professional football clubs.”
In a third official statement in three days, Nelms stated that the deal he brokered – in exchange for allowing the SPFL’s resolution to bring an end to the 2019/20 season in the lower divisions pass – was the best possible outcome for Dundee.
He said: “We have achieved the best deal possible out of a situation that was going to be bad for us in any iteration that was being proposed.
“Most importantly for Dundee FC, we spoke to other member clubs regarding their appetite for reconstruction, as the SPFL’s briefing notes did not give us much of a chance. This is the only aspect of any proposal that helps Dundee FC in any way.”
Now called Dee4Life and open to all Dundee fans, the Society came into being in 2004 to help the club avoid liquidation with 4,000 members at its peak.
At one stage it was majority shareholder in the club before current owner Tim Keyes and Nelms took a controlling interest.
Membership has since fallen to 200 but the group retains a seat on the board as well as special entrenched rights that allow them to veto major ownership decisions.
With a proposal for reconstruction that would take Dundee into the Premiership unlikely to be voted through, sections of the Dark Blues fan base remain unconvinced the U-turn was in the club’s best interests.
