It hardly seems like only five days since we arrived at Dens for the first time. A lot has happened in that time and it has been a long tough week for everyone at the club. Although all the measures we have taken so far have been necessary for the short-term survival of the club, few of them have been pleasant and I would like to thank all concerned for their mature and committed response.
We have gone some way to reducing the clubs running costs to a manageable level but we still have a long way to go. Our latest projections show the club to be losing some ý60k per week, which is still far too much. We are midway through a detailed review of overheads - which were running at some ý25,000 per week - and hope to be able to identify some further savings here. As well as this we will continue to question every purchase order, every cheque request and every invoice that is put in front of us.
We are now concentrating on raising additional revenue and have a number of initiatives under consideration. I know that fans are keen to get involved and I would welcome their support and assistance. It is vital that these efforts are coordinated and we are meeting with the DSA and our principal sponsors on Monday evening to discuss how to achieve this.
We would also like to make something completely clear. Every donation received by us will be used for the desired purpose and no other. For example if a donation is for the youth team, or to pay for the training pitches, that is what it will be used for. The money will not be diverted for any other purpose.
However, the main area where our supporters can help is to do what they do best. Turn up and support the team. Every additional 1000 supporters through the turnstiles is worth on average ý20,000 to the club. Hence a 50 % increase in our average home gate covers the current losses for a week. This would be an enormous boost so I would urge every supporter to do what they can to increase the attendance - eg, bring at least one friend with them to our two home games next week
Dundee is your football club. Nobody wants it to survive more that you. Now is the time to prove it.
Lastly. We would like to wish Jim and the boys all the best tomorrow. It won't be easy but three points would be a nice way to close out a difficult week.