NINE former Gretna players face a race against time to find new employers after the Scottish Premier League club's administrators axed them all on a devastating day for the Black and Whites.
Gretna have been left with a shell of a squad after administrators made nine first-team players and almost the entire youth team redundant.
David Bingham, Mark Birch, Mickael Buscher, Aurelien Collin, Chris Innes, Henry Makinwa, David Mathieson,
Erik Paartalu and Michael Tait were all given the chop, and Gretna could now struggle to raise a team for their remaining SPL games. The departing players must find new clubs before the end of the month, as well as seek special dispensation from Fifa to move outside of the transfer window, or face being unemployed until the summer.
Former captain Innes hit out at administrators, Wilson Field, for the timing of the redundancies, claiming the players were "left in a bit of a lurch".
Wilson Field took over the financial affairs at Gretna two weeks ago and players have been awaiting their fate ever since.
"I certainly didn't expect it to take this long," said Innes. "I would have appreciated it if they had maybe told us a little bit sooner, which would certainly have helped the players' positions with regards finding other clubs. They've left us in a bit of a lurch and it's disappointing.
"Fingers crossed, I'll have something sorted in the near future. There is interest from various teams in Scotland and, hopefully, down south."
Gretna's administrators may be confident of fulfilling their remaining SPL fixtures this season, but Innes fears the future looks bleak for the Dumfriesshire club, who have lost the backing of Brooks Mileson, the man who funded their climb into the Scottish top flight.
"As it stands, I think they're in a very precarious position," said Innes. "There is no sign of a backer and the players are continually going out and being told they're going to get paid, and they're not going to get paid, and it's a very unfair position for the boys that are left at the club to be in. It's quite tragic in a way. It's disappointing, but I've got to look forward to a future elsewhere."
The deadline for switching to a club in England is 5pm today, while a move to another Scottish side would have to be completed by 31 March. "It's a hell of a time at the moment," said PFA Scotland chief executive Fraser Wishart.
"The players now have to sort out this mess in terms of player registration, finding new clubs etc. It's a unique situation for a lot of people." Wishart also had sympathy for those players who remain at Gretna for the time being, but face an uncertain future. He said: "There are players still at the club who have had interest from other clubs, but they are reluctant to take the gamble (to quit Gretna] because there is a danger they won't get dispensation from Fifa if they move on."
Gretna also reluctantly parted company with 13 youth players, along with the club's six community coaches who were dismissed yesterday morning.
Former community coach Kevin Somerville said: "This has come as a shock because, only last week, the administrators said enough money had been secured to see the club through to the end of the season.
"Everyone came into work this week thinking we were giving it our all for the rest of the season only to have the rug pulled out from under us. It's not just the community coaches who are affected by this, it will affect other peoples' lives too. We coach kids from as young as five, as well as disabled people, and they might not get another opportunity like this. That's what saddens me the most.
"The communication from the administrators has been dire throughout to be honest and they have not consulted with us on anything. All they have done is look at figures on a balance sheet."
The full article contains 676 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
