Cork City players met this morning to discuss the financial crisis at the club but ruled out any prospect of walking away from Turner’s Cross as long as owner Tom Coughlan facilitated a takeover of the club by immediately stepping down.
Coughlan's resignation as chairman yesterday prompted the FAI to call on him to do the same and he insisted this evening he was committed to agreeing a deal with one of two interested parties but that the potential buyers "need time".
Defending hiimself in face of some fierce criticism this week, Coughlan told RTE Newshe had "inherited a lot of difficult and onerous contracts" since taking over last year but admitted that "going forward it needs somebody else to take it to the next level".
On the potential owners, he added: "They need time, they need a bit of space to work through what they need to do. The accounts are being audited at present, they want to see everything that's involved in the football club and then they'll make decision based on that.
"But they are very keen ... and they are working away hard at getting things organised as quickly as possible."
The change, however, cannot come quick enough for the players, whose patience is wearing thin having not been paid for 11 weeks.
“We will be fully supportive of the new owners when the takeover goes through as we all want this club to survive and succeed,” Cork's Dan Connor said today.
“But we have to take a stand now as enough is enough, what has gone on is ridiculous.
“The players will not play a competitive game for the present owner, and the majority of the staff have said they will not work here for the present owner. There is an offer there for a takeover of the club and we feel it is the best way forward.
"If not there is very good chance this club could go out of business," he told the Evening Herald.
Even if an offer is accepted there remains the issue the club's huge footballing debts, believed to total around €300,000 and due to be paid to creditors today in order to meet the league licensing deadline.
Around half of that debt is understood to be owed to former manager Alan Mathews. However, it is believed those payments have yet to be made.
The club has been given until Wednesday to produce audited accounts for last year, though if City fail to meet these deadlines but have their accounts in order and are under new ownership by February 15th, when they are due to meet the licensing committee, they could still secure a stay of execution.
In a statement released this morning the club said day-to-day affairs were now under the watch of general manager Liam Meaney who, along with the administration team, is “continuing the restructuring process already underway in a bid to ensure the financial stability of the club for the forthcoming season.”
Part of that process involves the introduction of a salary cap for the players of €750 per week.
Coughlan announced he was to step down as chairman yesterday after failing in his High Court bid to overturn an FAI ban on him representing City at association level and a fine of €5,000 for bringing the club into disrepute.
His disrepute charges stemmed from the club’s failure to pay employees on time, meet obligations to the Revenue and pay insurance premiums on time.
The club also reportedly failed to pay the ESB, resulting in supply being cut off, bounced cheques to referees and the Revenue, failed to pay transport costs and has been involved in two high-profile winding-up proceedings.