Pars forced to cut 17 players

supporters have rallied to raise over £50,000. But, with a lack of clarity over when and how next season will kick off amidst the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the Fifers have decided they simply cannot offer fresh terms to any player at this time.

A statement insisted this was to “protect the future of the club”, which only seven years ago was plunged into administration with debts approaching £10m before being saved by a fan-led consortium.

The move leaves manager Stevie Crawford with just 12 first-team players on the books for next term, including striker Kevin Nisbet, who was previously wanted by Hibs and Dundee United, Ryan Dow and Euan Murray, as well as a host of less-experienced youngsters.

McArthur insists the East End Park outfit considered signing players on shortterm extensions and making further use of the government’s furlough scheme but decided against it after taking professional advice.

“It was horrendous coming to this decision,” he commented. “That’s the worst part of managing a business, when you have to tell people you have to let them go. It’s not just the players, it’s the families, some of whom you know, and there’s young boys who have got their careers ahead of them.

“I spoke to the manager after the calls he made and it’s not nice; it’s horrible, situations like that. But, at the same time, I’ve got the responsibility to make what I feel is the right decision for the football club, to protect Dunfermline Athletic going forward.

“At the moment, there is just so much uncertainty. There’s no clarity about when we will be playing football next season and I’ve got to cut costs until I know when we’re going to start getting income again.

“So, I have no other option than to try to reduce costs further, and once we start to get some degree of certainty, over the coming weeks or months, then we can start signing players and getting them ready for pre-season.”