Dundee are poised to step up their pursuit of new players as paperwork on the Texas-based investment deal was due to be formally signed, sealed and delivered.
After American finan-ciers Keyes Capital pledged to pump up to £1.5 million into the club, the completion of the first formal contracts paves the way for fresh funds to be made available to boss John Brown for new signings.
And although the ink is barely dry, chief executive Scot Gardiner insists the deal heralds the start of bigger and better things for the Dens Park outfit.
With cash now committed to the Dark Blues, pending key signatures late last night, Gardiner revealed the club can now embark on a five to seven-year long-term plan which has been put in place and will be supported initially by a three-year fully-funded budget.
“If you have the working capital you can then create things and that’s what we plan to do,” Gardiner said, adding that efforts to improve the youth academy are already in the pipeline.
“When the papers are signed, it’s stage one. It’s still got to go to the fans for the fans to approve and you can’t take that for granted.
“But probably more importantly for the fans, when this ink is dry on the paper, John has given me a list of players and agents and I’ll be speaking to those players and agents all weekend because I’ve basically got a bank guarantee for that amount of money.
“In practical terms, we want to get our full squad together ASAP.”
It has been a significant few days for the Dens Park club and Gardiner, fresh from the marathon meeting at Hampden the night before, spoke to the squad to explain the finer detail of what the new SPFL will mean for them in relation to contracts and what they are playing for.
He also kept them abreast of the situation with regard the investment, assuring them and supporters it was just that an investment.
“The Dundee FC Supporters Society will still be the largest shareholder of Dundee FC, that’s just a fact,” he explained.
“But what you will have is a shareholders agreement that puts a block together which will be the majority.
“The fans normally only get a shareholding or a foothold in the club in the time of absolute crisis because nobody invites a fans group in and says: ‘Come and give us your money’.
“But you’ve got a situation here where the fans have saved the club, and over the last 18 months we’ve created some stability in the club so there has not been anybody banging on the door. Every bill is paid, KPIs are good and our ratio for wages to turnover is excellent and we’re hitting all targets that we set.
“The next stage is clearly that we require investment to kick on because you can’t keep going back to the fans saying: ‘Now give us more money’.
“Most people buying a football club will come in and take the whole thing, sweep it all away.
“But this is not doing any of that: all the hard-earned money, people who gave up their holidays, people who gave up their savings to get those shares to save the club are all still safe. That should be a comfort.”
New documents relating to Heads of Terms and Articles of Association have been drawn up and were in the hands of lawyers last night awaiting signatures.
That process was anticipated to be a formality, and the club will soon write to shareholders informing them of the situation. Gardiner also noted the timing of the announcement, saying any further delay could have caused the club “economic harm”.
He concluded: “A lot of fans have said they would not be buying their season tickets unless this goes through.
“We’ve got a situation where the early bird runs out on Sunday night, so at least they’ll get the chance should they so desire to take the season ticket option up and use it.
“It’s important we get it tied up for economic reasons both ours and the fans.”