Last updated 15:55, Wednesday, 02 April 2008

WHEN the ruthless men in suits now running Gretna decided to axe the flourishing youth department, they shattered the dreams of dozens of teenage boys – and hammered another nail into the club’s coffin.

As well as controlling the club’s affairs, the administrators should also be ensuring that Gretna is as appealing as possible to a future buyer – and they should have saved the kids.

One of the club’s few attractive qualities is its thriving youth programme run by highly-rated coach Iain Scott.

The youth system is absolutely crucial to the club’s future existence and getting rid of promising young players is a sickening blow in Gretna’s fight for survival.

Players’ union chief Fraser Wishart tried to save the kids because there is the prospect of a grant from FIFA for the youth programme – but his plea fell on deaf ears.

If the Borderers are to exist beyond the end of this season, a flourishing youth system has to be the heartbeat of the club to develop future first-team players and maybe even generate some money in the transfer market.

Attracting a new owner is a pretty tough task considering the club generates next to nothing at the turnstiles, and has had to rely solely on funding from a rich benefactor.

But there are two genuine potential new owners who are working away behind the scenes to possibly rescue the club which was plunged into administration with spiralling debts.

It’s just a crying shame that the club has been stripped of one of its best assets at a time when it needed it most.