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Bray: club's future in jeopardy. Tommy Dickson/INPHO

Bray players told the club only has enough money to cover next week's wages

Seagulls squad given permission to speak to new clubs.

BRAY WANDERERS PLAYERS have been given permission to speak to new clubs as the financial woes at the Carlisle Grounds deepen.

Despite selling Dylan Connolly to Dundalk this week, the Seagulls players were informed this morning that the club only has enough money to cover next week’s wages, the PFAI revealed, and will be allowed to leave.

Gary McCabe appeared to confirm the news on his own social media, posting a photo of himself with team-mates Conor Kenna and Aaron Greene with the caption “We’re for sale.”

The extent of the crisis at Bray became clear on Friday evening when chairman Denis O’Connor issued an ominous statement — sent to media at half-time in the 3-0 defeat to Dundalk — which questioned the club’s sustainability.

O’Connor blamed poor attendance figures and said “it is just not viable to continue to run a club at the level expected by fans without the proper support.”

This latest crisis, coming as the domestic campaign enters its run-in, will once again put the spotlight on the FAI’s licensing procedure which approves clubs to compete ahead of each new season.

The four-year strategic plan published by Bray in November 2016 promised to build a full-time professional first-team squad ahead of this season, and estimated that the club would need to increase its annual spend to €1.1 million to achieve this.

Improved attendances, commercial and sponsorship income, and improved FAI funding were all targeted to fund this gap but that increased revenue has failed to materialise.

Bray currently sit third in the League of Ireland Premier Division and in contention for European qualification.

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Niall Kelly
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