Edinburgh City chairman John Dickson confident of a bright future

Edinburgh City chairman John Dickson. Picture: Tommy Lee.

The Citizens were docked six points last week by the SPFL after failing to pay the players' wages on time.

This resulted in a mass exodus from the part-timers' squad with the likes of Danny Handling, Innes Murray, Lee Hamilton and Ryan Shanley among those to move on to pastures new.

The club were already rooted to the bottom of Scottish football's third tier and with a six-point deduction now enforced, coupled with the 3-0 defeat to nearest challengers Annan on Saturday, relegation to League Two seems inevitable.

An SPFL statement read: "Edinburgh City FC has received a six point deduction following an SPFL Disciplinary Tribunal into SPFL Rule breaches, which were admitted by the club.

"The breaches relate to the cinch League One club having failed to pay its players’ wages on time, and in full, on 30 November 2023. This failure to pay was also not notified to the SPFL as required by SPFL Rules and Regulations.

"The club also admitted it had breached the rules by failing to advise the SPFL that it had been in default of its tax obligations to HMRC, as required by SPFL Rules and Regulations. Furthermore, the club did not engage fully in the disciplinary process leading to further breaches of SPFL Rules. Edinburgh City’s points tally for season 2023/24 will be adjusted immediately."

However, Dickson now wants to draw a line under the situation and hopes the current squad, led by Michael McIndoe, do everything in their power to stay up.

He said: "First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the decision of the SPFL’s disciplinary hearing, and apologise unreservedly to our players, management and supporters for the outcome.

"The club accepts the tribunal’s verdict, and I can confirm that no appeal will be forthcoming. Since November, the club has been under significant financial distress, which has been widely reported and speculated upon. For clarity, the club had a winding up petition served on it by HMRC, which has now been dismissed, following our agreement with them in early January. We are grateful to HMRC for their cooperation and appreciate their willingness to work with the club.

"As regards the remuneration default, I would once again put on record my apologies to the players and staff affected by this. Significant progress has been made in this regard and we project to have all arrears satisfied before the end of the season.

"Financially, the club is engaging positively with all creditors and suppliers, and we have a robust financial model that will see us complete this season and allow us to prepare for 2024/25.

"From a football-perspective, I acknowledge that our management team has gone above and beyond under the most challenging of circumstances. We are now in the position that we can build towards next season.

"To close, I would like to thank and apologise to our fans, who have been through the mill over these last few months. The club is forever grateful for all the kind messages and financial contributions that have been made, and we now must ensure that the club reaches its target of sustainability moving forward.

"Running a football team is a challenge, but we are committed to achieving true sustainability as we complete this season and look forward to next."