JIM DUFFY, the Dundee manager, is to remain at the club for at least one more season to try to win them promotion back to the Bank of Scotland Premierleague. Duffy has had to accept a substantial pay-cut to retain his job after the Dens Park outfit were relegated to the first division.
Coaches Ray Farningham and Stevie Campbell have both been made redundant as have some of the Dens Park office staff as the club attempt to reduce costs. On top of that, Dundee will almost certainly dispense with their reserve side to save money with Gordon Wallace, the club's general manager, being given the task of looking after the youth team.
The cut-backs come after a warning from Peter Marr, the club's chief executive, that they could slip back into administration if the new budget proposals are not accepted by their bankers, HBOS.
Duffy said he was saddened by the job losses and cut-backs and hoped his side's stay in the Bell's first division lasted only one season. "I accept the new terms with a tinge of sadness, not just because I will be earning less as nobody likes to be presented with that kind of situation. It is the job and not the money which is my motivation.
The main sadness for me is that a lot of people have left the club and others, including the office staff, have had to accept wage cuts."
Duffy is to take a short holiday before returning to Dens Parkwhere one of his first tasks will be to work out which of his contracted players will accept reduced terms to stay and which of them will opt for pastures new. Steve Lovell, one of his prized assets, is likely to leave with Aberdeen among the clubs linked with the player.
"I always said I wanted to stay on as manager of Dundee and I am pleased to get everything sorted, " said Duffy. "Now we have to look forward and hopefully the club will be able to bounce straight back into the SPL. I'm delighted the directors wanted me to stay and it is important that I had their backing. We've seen the harsh realities of losing our SPL status but there are real signs of togetherness about us."
Marr's business plan will be presented to the bank today and he has warned that if his proposals are rejected, the club could slide back into administration.
"I will present the bank with our budget and hope they give us a quick answer, " said Marr.
"Up to now the bankers have been very helpful, not just to ourselves but to Scottish football in general, and hopefully they will continue to give us their backing. If they don't, then we may slip back into administration and if that happens, then I thinkwe could end up like Airdrie and go into liquidation. It's as simple as that."
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