Stenhousemuir chairman’s diary: If everyone shoulders a share, we all survive

The shock of it all is perhaps starting to wear off and people are starting to realise just how hard this next few months will be.

The practical realities of running a football club that can’t do anything football related is really starting to bite. Because it’s the football that brings in the revenue.

We can’t stage games, we can’t run our daily on-field community programmes. We can’t run our Easter and summer camps. We can’t hold our fundraisers. We can’t host our sponsors or hospitality guests – we can’t even attend the ground.

Football is on hold, and so too is all club income. We have been patiently trying to work through cost savings. We need everyone at the club to play their part.

The club stands to lose tens of thousands of pounds, but we don’t want this to impact on jobs. If everyone is willing to shoulder a small share of the financial burden, then everyone will survive.

The full management team, Davie Irons, Kevin McGoldrick and David Binnie, have all offered to give up their full salary. This is a magnificent gesture.

This week we have asked the players if they would be prepared to offer a voluntary wage reduction, something affordable to them, even something small, and we hope that they too will offer to do something. We hope they agree that we’re all in this together.

People throughout the country are doing their bit to help. This week we’ve had people from all over Scotland, England and abroad offering to do their bit for the club. From buying shares, to making cash donations, to offering their help, people are coming on board to help the club survive.

And survival is our aim, because make no bones about it, I absolutely believe that there will be clubs that will go to the wall because of this. It’s going to be a long, hard road for us all.