DUNDALK’S NEW OWNER John Temple says the club is on “life support” and has stressed the importance of all supporters making a contribution to ensuring its survival.
Temple, a local barrister, took over the club on Tuesday from Brian Ainscough as part of a deal to save the club from going out of business.
Along with a group of investors, Temple has agreed to underwrite the players’ current wages until the end of the season and will examine the viability of the club and its facilities as part of the deal.
Speaking in an extensive interview on the Dundalk Youtube channel this evening, Temple revealed that the club is “far from out of the woods,” and said his aim is avoid the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP), which would result in a points deduction and certain relegation.
Recapping the events which led to him becoming the new owner of the club, Temple explained how he received a phonecall on Monday morning from someone who was “extremely worried and concerned for the club.”
When asked why he wanted to help save Dundalk, Temple replied:
“Dundalk FC brings its own business to the town, it brings travelling fans to the club. That in itself creates an economy. It creates employment. There’s an awful lot that Dundalk has to give. They’ve had huge achievements over the last 10 years and there are a lot of people in the town who rely on it, aspire to it and want to be part of it.
“If we were to say that that’s gone, that would be hugely unfortunate.
“We’re far from out of the woods. The club is in serious financial difficulty. Just undertaking to pay the wages is one aspect. The creditors are banging down the door every hour and emails are coming in every second hour from people who want to appoint receivers and run to the courts and everything else, and are threatening all sorts.
“If I can keep it out of the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process, and creditors can sit down and have a discussion with me and the other investors, the issues off the field don’t affect what’s going on on the field.”
Temple added that there are “no plans for a new stadium” and he has been working with club CEO Peter Halpin, the team manager, Jon Daly as well as Bernard Freeman, who is the head of the club’s ladies’ team.
Speaking about the initiatives in place to help the club restore its financial health, Temple said the gym will be open to the club as well as the use of indoor pitches, while a Halloween camp will be provided in the coming weeks. The club will also be taking bookings for birthday parties.
“It’s bleak,” said Temple. “I didn’t put us in this situation. The fans didn’t put us in this situation and the players certainly didn’t put us in this situation. The reality is we are where we are and how are we going to get out?
“Make no mistake, we’re on life support. We need everyone to dig deep and get in behind the club. We have tough decisions to make, we have tough times ahead some of the decisions are not going to be to everyone’s liking. That’s just the reality of what we have coming in.
“We have a grant of 500,000 for the pitch and the lights assured by the Government. But that money is going to be eaten by replacing those two necessities going into next season. I don’t know when it’s going to come in. The rest of it is going to come from gate receipts, merchandise, people coming up from the community supporting their club.”
You can listen to the full interview below…
