Dundee placed in administration

Dundee have been placed in administration, financial consultants Ernst & Young have confirmed.

The Tayside club are carrying a reported debt of over £13m (€18.7m), with some estimates closer to £20m (€28.7m).

The Dark Blues must now endure a period of severe cost-cutting following the example of Motherwell, who were placed in administration in April 2002.

Dundee owners, Jimmy and Peter Marr, have insisted this procedure is necessary to safeguard the future of the club although lawyer Giovanni di Stefano, whose directorship has still to be ratified by the Scottish Football Association, maintains it will signal the end for the team’s 110-year history.

A statement released by Ernst & Young said: “Following an application by the company to the Court of Session, Dundee Football Club Ltd has today been put into administration.”

A question mark will now hang over the future of high-earning players such as Fabrizio Ravanelli and Craig Burley, who only joined the club in September.

Beto Carranza, Juan Sara and Fabian Caballero must also wait and see what the immediate future holds.

Dundee may also see Scotland internationals Lee Wilkie and Gavin Rae leave in the wake of administration while top scorer, Nacho Novo, has already been linked with a move away from Dens Park.

The future of manager Jim Duffy may also be shrouded in doubt after he guided the team to their first Tennent’s Scottish Cup final since 1964 in May.

He subsequently took Dundee into their first European campaign since the 1974-75 season where Perugia defeated them in the UEFA Cup first round.