Airdrie survive - for now

A less bleak outlook for Steve Archibald and Airdrie

The future of Airdrie Football Club has been secured for the time being courtesy of a £15,000 donation by supporters.

The money is to be passed to Steve Archibald in order to restore to £40,000 the security bond required by interim liquidators KPMG.

Archibald has also agreed to sign the Interim Management Agreement and to cover the outstanding £15,000 weekly running costs of the club.

Those conditions satisfied, the club can now re-sign players and Saturday's match with Alloa will go ahead.

Steve Archibald (centre) takes training on Friday

Former Barcelona and Tottenham striker Archibald has now been allowed access to the club having found himself locked out on Thursday morning under KPMG's instruction.

According to KPMG's Blair Nimmo, Archibald had plenty of warning that he could be locked out of the club and the situation could arise again at any time should Archibald fail to meet the running costs.

Archibald is still trying to put together a package to buy the club - and there is no other buyer in the wings.

There is no indication that he wants out and according to KPMG he would now have too much to lose.

In a statement issued on Friday evening, KPMG stressed that, contrary to some reports, the weekly payments of £7,500 were used to cover running costs, not for consultancy fees.

Hidden agenda

It added that KPMG was unaware of any hidden agenda over Airdrie's future - as Archibald had suggested - and that KPMG would continue to facilitate Archibald's bid to buy the club.

Archibald has been effectively managing and financing Airdrie since the start of the season.

He has been negotiating a takeover of the club, which went into provisional liquidation in February with debts believed to be around £750,000.

However, on Thursday, he said that his spell in charge looked to be over, with KPMG claiming that he had failed to make a number of payments.

Archibald himself suggested that it was down to his refusal to pay an extra £15,000 being demanded as a deposit against any damage that might be done to the premises during his tenure.

KPMG insisted that Archibald had been locked out because he had not signed an interim management agreement due to be agreed on Friday, he had not paid two weekly sums of £7,500 required towards the running costs, and had not paid the £40,000 deposit.

As the day developed, a group of fans went in person to KPMG's offices in Glasgow at 1700GMT to settle the oustanding issue of the £15,000.