By Alan Wilson

LORD PROVOST John Letford last night urged Dundee FC fans to continue their “magnificent” support for the club and help them bounce back from the despair of relegation.

He said that having spoken to many fans after the club slipped out of the Premier League on Saturday, he knew they were fearful for the future and admitted the club’s situation was “desperate.”

“I’m sure the fans will rally round the club, though, like they did when they went into administration, they were absolutely fantastic then and they will be again,” Mr Letford said.

“It’s going to take a great deal of determination to get out of the first division and the club will need all the help it can get.

“They need the full support of the fans and I’m sure they’ll get it.

“We’re all thinking about them and my personal hope is that Mr Duffy is not made a scapegoat and his position is secure.

“He was absolutely magnificent through administration. He won a lot of respect then and he did extremely well in an extremely difficult position.”

Norrie Price, author of the book They Wore The Dark Blue, said last night that first and foremost he was looking for the club to continue.

“Where there’s life there’s hope and I suppose that’s what the directors are saying if they say they have a plan for the way forward.

“We can only be glad about that.

“Everyone anticipated cuts and we’ll just have to wait and see what happens now.”

The Dark Blues, who only emerged from administration last year, lost their place in the top flight on a dramatic last day of the season which saw city rivals United avoid the drop.

Relegation—confirmed with a nail-biting 1-1 draw against Livingston at Almondvale—is likely to cost the Dens Park club as much as £1.5 million in lost revenue.

The secretary of supporters trust Dee4Life, Scott Glenday, said, “Relegation is seriously bad news for the club, the board, the manager, the players and the fantastic supporters.

“Where we go from here who can tell? But I’m sure everyone will do all they can to help the club bounce back.”

The trust’s Robin Grimmond conceded that they have “no idea” what the future holds for a club millions of pounds in debt.

“We just have to wait and see what the board will come up with.

“Obviously Dee4Life will do everything they can and get the fans together to help the club as much as we can.”

A dark day for the Dark Blues was made even worse when several hundred fans were locked out of the Livingston stadium on Saturday after the away end reached capacity.

Police confirmed that scuffles took place after supporters queued for up to three-quarters of an hour in the rain, to be met with the abrupt closure of turnstiles.

It is understood that Dundee officials contacted their hosts during the week to warn them of a large travelling support.

An estimated 4500 people made the trip to West Lothian, but only 3700 seats were allocated, while there were gaps in the home sections.

Dundee fan David Jenkins said, “We queued in the rain for over 45 minutes and then they announced that the ground was full and we were told in no uncertain terms to go away.

“We asked if they could make some space for us in the Livi stand near the Dundee fans but they refused and didn’t even want to consider it.

“We went round to the hill where you can see in the corner of the ground and stood there and got completely soaked.

“It was a ridiculous situation, everybody knew there was going to be thousands coming through and it should have been all-ticket.

“The potential for trouble was there, although the fans were really good and just made the best of it.”

One arrest was made at the game for an alleged breach of the peace, while a further four people were ejected from the stadium.

A spokesman for Dundee said that they felt for all the supporters, and that the process of adjusting to the financial realities of life outside the top flight would begin.

“Magnificent is an over-used word in football, but it is the only word to describe our fans today, those in the ground and the hundreds more that Livingston would not admit to the ground,” he said.

“Instead of going away, those supporters made their way round to a nearby grassy hill where they could glimpse a view of the action and they stayed and cheered in the rain.

“We are really feeling for them, especially after the fantastic backing they’ve given us over the past couple of seasons.”

Recently-elected Dundee East MP Stewart Hosie expressed his disappointment at Dundee’s plight.

“The Dundee derbies are the biggest games of the season and they will be missed,” he said.