Six days after their humiliation at Fir Park, and six weeks before the start of the Petrofac Training Cup, Sevco is shrounded in silence.
No manager, a rump of players that got trounced by Motherwell, no season ticket sales and a £5m loan needing repaid to Mike Ashley seems to have strangled the Dave King revolution before it had time to breathe.
After being swept to power on the powerful cocktail of fan power and a promise of transparency mixed with accountability the leadership void is forcing even some of the most gullible minds to wonder what is going on.
New pioneer Lee McCulloch appears to have left without any fanfare, the SPL’s leading all-time scorer seems to be in talks about another return to Kilmarnock while wee Stuarty is back in his Scotland tracksuit without even a public thanks, but not thanks.
With Mr King, who was recently described as a glib and shameless liar by a South African judge, at home in Johannesburg, Mr Murray has taken himself off to San Francisco for a knee’s-up with the 600 strong North American supporters federation.
Haunting their every move is the imposing figure of Mr Ashley looking for some answers and the return of the £5m loan that kept the lights on and ensured a third placed finish in the second tier of Scottish football.
As the board duck and squirm away from repaying the sportswear giant the clock ticks towards Friday’s General Meeting when Mr Ashley’s questions have to be answered.
A refusal to answer and repay could lead to court action meaning that the first 15,000 season ticket sales (at £400 a time) will be ring fenced to ensure that the loan is secure should Sevco lurch into administration.
Mark Warburton’s 15 minutes of fame has proved a welcome distraction from the cold financial reality. Alex McLeish and others can be linked with others talking up their ability but the bottom line is that the company is utterly hamstrung whichever way they look.
At it’s most optimistic the company spends £30m a year while bringing in £20m, with ticket sales the chief source of income. Two seasons of spending the proceeds from the share issue left the company requiring the Ashley loan, £3m from the three bares, £1.5m from Mr King and a £3m share issue to fulfill their 2014/15 fixture list.
With no friendly bank willing to offer an overdraft Mr King and Mr Murray find themselves in the centre of a storm with neither individual having invested a penny into the company that they love so much.
Many stunts have been pulled from Ibrox down the years but selling season tickets for a campaign that may not start and has little prospect of reaching spring 2016 would be beyond reckless, perhaps even leave those involved liable for trading while insolvent.
As the silence continues the shadow of Mr Ashley grows larger on the horizon, despite the promptings of ‘senior Queens counsel’ the smart money is on the Englishman hitting back with a knock-out blow after his men were routed and chased out of town in March.
