Bray Wanderers chairman Denis O'Connor says that the financial crisis at the club has been resolved, at least in the short to medium term, and that no more players will be leaving with all wages set to be paid on time between now and the end of the season.
O’Connor says that the club will update the players, quite a few of whom have been linked to rival clubs in the wake of reports that he had told them they were “free to leave” on the situation today via the PFAI, but now he insists that “they all have contracts which the club intends to honour and nobody will be going anywhere as far as I’m concerned.”
Wanderers had been plunged into crisis by the withdrawal of Gerry Mulvey’s financial support - something which came to light last week when the club controversially issued a statement during the game with Dundalk, in which O’Connor was critical of the local community for the lack of support given to the club.
The chairman says that the reaction to the resulting publicity has been “phenomenal,” however, and that it will now be in a position to meet all of its commitments in the coming months.
O’Connor says that a number of parties have undertaken to provide the required support but he is hoping that Wanderers will get a short term boost from the home game against league leaders Cork City who are currently scheduled to visit the Carlisle Grounds next Friday, July 14th, although that will be changed - possibly to the Sunday - in the event that John Caulfield’s side progres in the Europa League.
He said: “The reaction to what has been going on has been phenomenal over the last few days and I’m confident that the attendance at that game will reflect the level of support we have been receiving.”
If Cork do get safely past Levadia Tallinn they are set to be in Cyprus next Thursday for a second round game against Larnaca with the return leg to come the following week. The order of those games might yet be changed depending on how two Moldovan clubs, one of whom could also face Cypriot opponents Apollon Limassol in the second round, fare.
The Irish club are apparently agreeable to playing in Bray on the Sunday, especially if they end up playing Larnaca at Turner’s Cross first. Nothing has been agreed yet and the possibility remains that a move would be made to push the fixture back until later in the season.
