Cormack’s vow as Dons face club’s ‘worst crisis’

DAVE CORMACK says Aberdeen are facing the biggest crisis in their 117-year history — but he is determined to ensure fans won’t miss any of the action when football finally returns. The Pittodrie chairman is planning a variety of strategies to limit the damage from what is expected to be a £5 million hit in revenue caused by the coronavirus pandemic. And he has been heartened by supporters already snapping up more than 5,000 season tickets despite not knowing when crowds will be allowed back into Scottish grounds. Cormack believes a lockout for the remainder of 2020 could be likely but is working to find ways that will reward supporters with remote access to games played by Derek McInnes’ side. He said: ‘Right now, we are projecting there will be no games in front of fans until January. Fans are buying season tickets not knowing when they will see a game at Pittodrie and we don’t take that lightly. We are committed to giving full value to our fans for season tickets. ‘We are looking for clarity on what is happening and what games we are able to show in a virtual season ticket until December. I am asking the fans to put their trust in me and the club to do the right thing. This is the biggest crisis we have faced in 117 years, since we were founded.’ Cormack only replaced Stewart Milne as Aberdeen chairman three months before Scottish football was shut down in mid-March. He added: ‘The priority is to be conservative with our projected income so we can see this through. It will take another two to four weeks to put a survival plan in place on the basis that we are not going to be playing in front of fans until January. ‘Everything we are doing is how Aberdeen survives and through that doing the best for everyone.’