Hopes meeting will lead to new owner

By Amanda Little

Last updated 16:22, Wednesday, 30 April 2008

Gretna coach Andy Smith is hoping a crunch meeting of the club’s creditors will signal news of a takeover bid.

Optimistic: ‘I'm hoping it is a positive sign,’ says Gretna coach Andy Smith

The fate of the stricken club will be in the hands of creditors who will meet with the administrators at the Smith’s Hotel in Gretna Green a week tomorrow.

Creditors, who include former boss Rowan Alexander, HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue, are owed nearly £4million.

One option is liquidation, but Smith expects the administrators to recommend a potential buyer, which could offer new hope on the club’s future.

He said: “I'm hoping it is a positive sign that there is a meeting and that it means there are people wanting to come into the club.

“I hope it means there will be an offer on the table for the creditors, and then obviously the creditors have their own decision to make after that.

“But the fact there is money being talked about there I hope leads to some sort of money to take the club over.

“We have certainly been told we will see out the rest of the season and I think we will be paid up until the May 17 or 19 when we were due to finish the season.

“We have not been told anything otherwise and just have to trust the administrators on that point and hope this meeting is going to be a positive thing, and that it means the creditors have accepted some sort of deal to take the club over.”