End of the road for crisis club Gretna as Raydale Park is put up for sale

Elliot opened the sale of the stadium and land to non-football purchasers after a rescue package fell through following the club's demotion to the Irn-Bru Third Division on Thursday.  

Elliot, of Wilson Field, now expects the Scottish Football League to expel the club after he could offer no guarantees they will complete their fixtures next season.  

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Raydale Park Stadium

He told BBC Sport: "They still are in the Third Division of the SFL but that is going to change within days, just as soon as the formalities are completed."  

The club were expected to be put into liquidation today and final confirmation of their demise is not far away. 

"I'm not thinking of formally putting it into liquidation because there may be some tax reasons for actually selling the ground in administration," Elliot added. 

"But in effect there will be no trading. That's it."

Gretna's future looked doomed as soon as SFL members voted at their AGM on
Thursday to relegate them a further two levels following their bottom-place
finish in the top flight.

Paul Davies, a football agent fronting the consortium that had made a late bid, then withdrew as their business plan was based on First Division football.

The SFL had given Gretna until the "very early part" of this week to sort out a takeover but that proved not possible.

A statement from Wilson Field this afternoon read: "In the circumstances we anticipate losing Third Division status and our agents have been instructed to also consider offers for the ground from parties outside football."

SFL officials were still considering the implications of the statement this afternoon.

While the club still exist in name alone, a benefactor would need to emerge out of the blue within days to maintain their league status.

The club's financial problems came to a head in February when owner Brooks Mileson withdrew his funding, which Elliot estimates totalled around £8million.

Boss Mick Wadsworth and the rest of the staff were made redundant last month

That cash had catapulted Gretna from the Third Division to the Scottish Premier League, via a Scottish Cup final, but the abrupt withdrawal after Mileson fell ill left them with debts approaching £4million.

The deficit includes substantial football debts and a £500,000 Inland Revenue bill, which cannot be paid off at a fraction to allow the club to move out of administration.

Elliot added: "The overriding problem is that you have got to have somebody who wants to invest a substantial amount of money to bring the ground up to standard and then acquire it from the administrator so that he can pay the creditors.

"But the income you are going to get from the anticipated gates may not be sufficient to cover those costs.

"That's why you need a benefactor in there with deep pockets."

Elliot also revealed the plan put forward by Davies had hit snags over the redevelopment of Raydale Park.

Around £35,000 was needed to bring it up to First Division standards but Davies could not promise the SFL that work would be completed by the start of next season.

There was also uncertainty over the extent of the football debts while SFL chief executive David Longmuir claimed the plan contained "fundamental flaws".

Raydale Park was valued at £850,000 in the last club accounts but there is an added complication over any sale as the land is earmarked for sport and recreational use by the council.