Players union boss Fraser Wishart spent all day at Dens Park on Friday counselling players and holding talks with administrator Bryan Jackson and says he is under no illusions that the clock is ticking on Dundee FC’s future unless a buyer is found soon.
As The Courier reported on Saturday, Mr Wishart also had some stinging words about the way the club has been run.
“It is important to emphasise that this is not an administration that is going to save the club in six months to a year,” he said. “It is to save the club as a viable concern.
“If anyone out there has got money to invest in Dundee FC then please come forward quickly.
“The action taken today has given the club a chance to survive so we can all just pray and hope that someone comes forward.”
He then criticised Dundee for going down the “white knight” route rather than living within their means.
“I have been going on about this for years and years,” he said. “Football clubs need to be better regulated.
“Dundee FC is one of our oldest clubs probably in the top 10 or 12 for size but yet again they have had to rely on the white knight benefactor for finances and now they have run into difficulties.
“As soon as a benefactor becomes the only way a club pays the wages and the bills then you are in trouble. If he wakes up one morning and decides he is no longer paying for it then there is trouble.
“The Scottish Football League needs guarantees from any such benefactor that they’re there for the long haul and are going to do what they say.
“Football has a massive responsibility to clean up its act,” Mr Wishart added. “We claim it is a community thing and the game of the people but time and again this club did not pay the taxman.
“We have to make sure that football clubs are run properly.”
He praised the players for the manner in which they received the bad news, saying, “They have been in the dark for the last few days, just waiting for this, but I have to say the spirit among the players has been great, including those who have been released as they were delighted their pals were being kept on.
“I think most of them who have been released are just disappointed. They were happy at Dundee but hopefully now they will find new clubs.
“This is a terrible process. Anyone who has been through administration knows how hard it can be. For footballers it can be difficult because normally they have contracts that are protected.
“In administration they are not protected so this is a new environment for them.”
Mr Wishart added, “I didn’t know until the players came out of their meetings who had gone.”
“Bryan Jackson (the administrator) may have made the decisions but he is not the problem here. He is a good guy and Dundee are lucky to have someone like him in charge at the moment.”