Jefferies blames Longmuir for Dunfermline’s relegation
A 3-1 aggregate defeat from Alloa sent the Pars down for the second season running following a 15 point deduction for going into administration.
Unlike the SPL the SFL have no fixed punishments for clubs that go into administration with Dunfermline’s punishment decided by a committee meeting.
Longmuir was at East End Park yesterday and had words with Jefferies before the match which resulted in a 1-0 consolation victory for the home side.
“I let him know my feelings,” Jefferies revealed about the conversation. “I wasn’t pleased with his answer, which was that he was only the messenger. That’s a terrible thing to say.
“He is the head of the football league. He was part of it. They should never have taken that decision. The damage was done with David Longmuir and a committee sitting in a meeting.
“The supporters and players don’t deserve that, they are the ones that ultimately get punished. It’s not the owner that suffers. We’ve lost all of our players; is that not bad enough? All these boys have been asked to do an impossible job. I think the people on that committee and David Longmuir should hold their heads in shame.”
The 15 point deduction was applied with administrator Bryan Jackson acting on behalf of the club.
With various financial matters to deal with Jefferies feels that Jackson wasn’t best placed to represent the club in front of the SFL.
The Dunfermline boss added: “I’ve had this bottled up inside me and I didn’t want to detract from what they players have been doing. I would have said this even if we had survived.
“I also think the administrator here should have contested it more; the league took advantage of that. I should have been there, or someone on good authority, to fight our case. I’m not against clubs getting punished, but there are other ways of doing it.”