Singh Looks To The Future
by Scott Thornberry - 10th January 2010
Darlingtons Chairman Raj Singh has spoken to The Northern Echo assuring fans that the club is financially stable but also talks about how he hopes the future at the club will lead to him putting less money into the pot.
Since taking over the reigns in the summer Singh has seen attendances fall to the lowest levels in 30 years, add to the mixer the fact that Darlington haven't kicked a ball in any competition in nearly a month due to the weather, and things have been pretty gloomy, and thats not even mentioning our league postition.
“It’s been tough, really tough. In truth, it’s been a lot tougher than I expected. I’ve lost count of the number of people who have asked me what I’m doing. I was out with friends on Wednesday night, and they were putting their arms around me and saying, ‘I worry for you'. “But I’m a big enough guy to take all this on the chin. I’d like to think I have a decent enough idea of what it will take to turn all this around, and I’m ready to give it the very best shot I can.”
“When we agreed a fee with the administrators, at that point the club was debt free. Since then, there have been ongoing costs that have been incurred to keep the club running, but they have all come out of my pocket.
“I have met all of those myself. I am covering those losses, rather than banks or loans or anything like that. As we sit here talking, we do not owe a penny to the banks.
“People have asked, ‘Why would he want to get involved when it means he’s going to lose money?’ Well the answer to that is that, as a football fan, I genuinely felt I could make a difference.
“Yes, there are losses, and people are right, no businessman is going to keep putting his hand in his pocket forever. But while there are losses I am having to cover now, those losses do not exceed the assets we have in the company. In the medium to longer term, it would be a massive help to be able to resolve the situation with the land, the council and Mr Houghton,”
“That’s where there’s a real potential for money coming in, whether it is through the sale of the site, or its development into something that will help to raise revenue.
“Ultimately, that’s something we’ll have to look into, but for the time being there is one focus and one focus alone, and that’s keeping this club in the Football League. Our budget is all to pot now. But I believe we have to back the manager and give him the ammunition he needs to have a fighting chance. We want him to have a go.
“Steve inherited a very difficult situation, with a squad that wasn’t really strong enough for the job it was intended for.
“So we’re committed to helping him as much as we can by bringing new players in, to give us a fighting chance in the second half of the season. We’re expecting five or six new players to come in and we’re going to give this a shot.”
“There is absolutely no danger of relegation wrecking what we have started,” he said.
“We have plans in place – definitely for next season, if not the next two or three seasons after that as well – and they are not dependent on us staying in the league.
“Our primary aim at the moment is to recruit players who are capable of keeping us in this league.
“That is the aim. But at the same time, we need to be realistic and, if the worst does happen, we need to be prepared and use the last two to three months of the season to give us the best possible chance of hitting the ground running next season.
“The most important thing is that all the decisions that are taken will be for the longterm good of the football club, and if or when I do leave, I am absolutely determined that the club will be in a better position than when I found it.’’