Livi bond frustrates consortium

By Brian McLauchlin

Gordon McDougall and Neil Rankine are attempting to save Livingston

The new controlling consortium at Livingston has expressed frustration in its attempts to save the club.

Gordon McDougall and Neil Rankine have been asked to put up a bond of £720,000 - in order to fulfil the Division One club's fixtures for the new season.

"We are potentially going to be penalised for saving the club," McDougall told BBC Scotland.

The Scottish Football League will discuss Livingston's future at a meeting at Hampden on Wednesday.

McDougall claimed Livingston were being threatened with relegation - despite being assured of their place in the division last week.

And he said he believed the bond was excessive and that the Scottish Football League was setting a dangerous precedent.

The consortium believed that no further sanctions should follow its agreement to put up the bond, he went on.

The other nine Division One clubs are known to have deep concerns about Livingston's ability to complete their fixtures.

Former Cowdenbeath owner Gordon McDougall, ex-Dumbarton chairman Neil Rankine and former Livingston director Ged Nixon saved Livi from liquidation.

They persuaded former chairman Angelo Massone to accept £50,000 for his shares and prevent the club from going to the wall.

The consortium says its business plan for Livingston's future hinges on it remaining in Division One.

Interim manager Donald McGruther, of administrator Mazars, has urged the SFL to think again about possible sanctions against the club.

He told BBC Scotland that Livingston could still go out of business if the new consortium and the SFL failed to find common ground.

The new SFL season begins on Saturday and possible sanctions against Livingston include relegation and a 10-point penalty for entering the liquidation process.