Months of no income behind them and the prospect of another 12 weeks without games is hitting Dundee hard.
The club are hoping to conclude talks with the playing squad this week over pay cuts and are mulling over restructuring the youth set-up to save some cash.
Assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl has already departed as has former skipper Josh Meekings after failing to agree a new deal.
It’s a far cry from the stable position the club seemed to be in when I last did a column over a month ago.
And it must be a worry for everyone working at the club about what the future holds for them.
Usually at this time of year we’d be looking at who the manager would be looking to bring in to improve his squad for next season.
However, with the current players being asked to take pay cuts and an assistant leaving, James McPake can’t very well go handing out contracts to new players.
So, he may just have to go with what he’s got when competitive action, hopefully, returns to Dens Park in October.
As it stands, James has a more than decent starting XI for a shot at the Championship title, though.
In goal there’s Jack Hamilton, not everyone’s cup of tea admittedly.
However, when he’s on his game he’s a good goalie and if he can cut out the glaring mistakes, there’s a steady keeper there for the Dee with young Callum Ferrie as backup.
A backline of Cammy Kerr, Jordon Forster, Jordan McGhee and Jordan Marshall – with possibly youngster Sam Fisher as backup and Christie Elliott able to drop into full-back – is a good Championship defence.
McPake’s central midfield options are excellent, it must be said.
And after a season together, you’d expect players like Graham Dorrans and Fin Robertson to kick on.
Shaun Byrne stepped up his game since the new year, too, and if Jamie Ness can keep fit we all know there is quality there.
And stalwart Paul McGowan will do everything in his power to get the Dark Blues back to the Premiership.
Then there’s Declan McDaid on the left wing and Elliott on the other side with main striker Kane Hemmings and Andrew Nelson fighting for a place.
If everyone’s fit, I wouldn’t have too many worries about that team fighting for promotion when the ball eventually comes back out, though there isn’t much experienced depth there.
A lot can change in the three months between now and October, however – I just hope there’s enough of the club as we know it left so it can recover fully when things return to something like normal and we see a team like that on the pitch at Dens Park.
‘Mellon joins Tangerines to make the Vitamin C Army’
‘When life gives you Mellons, make melonade’
‘Twisting my Mellon, man’
I’m sure Dundee United’s new manager Micky Mellon has heard all the fruity puns in the world already.
And is no doubt pretty tired of them.
However, a scroll through the responses to his appointment on Monday online did give me a chuckle, I must admit.
What was great to see – and very, very encouraging for United fans – was the almost blanket praise for the new boss at Tannadice from Tranmere Rovers supporters.
They’ve just been relegated to League Two and lost their manager, one they obviously had a huge amount of time for.
It’s been a tough time for the English side but fan after fan wished Mellon all the best in his new job at United.
Former players have talked him up as a real motivator, too.
Hopefully, he can build up the same rapport with fans of the Tannadice club because that’ll mean he’s a success at United.
I try my best to stick to football matters and away from the background stuff as much as I can in this column.
However, when the finances of Dundee mean they are seriously looking at cutting their youth set-up, it can’t be ignored.
It’s such a backwards step. A good youth academy is vital to the long-term health of a football club.
However disappointing, if you can’t survive short-term, long-term health doesn’t matter, though.
After four weeks off, I bet you thought you’d got rid of me? Unlucky! My baby Elena is doing just fine after a month in the world. And it’s not like I missed much going on at Dens and Tannadice while I was away, did I. . .
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.