Clubs to meet FAI next week

The new backers of Drogheda United and Longford Town will hold separate meetings with the National League next Wednesday aimed at confirming their status for the coming season.

Both clubs held meetings last night on the level of financial support available in the respective towns and each hopes to have detailed budgetary plans worked out by the time they return to Dublin in the middle of next week.

Representatives of the temporary board at United Park were in Merrion Square yesterday and a spokesman said afterwards that considerable progress had been made towards confirming the club's status for the coming season.

While in Longford Donal Keogh, a member of the local group aiming to keep the club afloat said that he was "quietly optimistic" that a package would be in place for next week's meeting.

Meanwhile, at the a.g.m of Dundalk's shareholders last night, club chairman Enda McGuill presented a report on the club's finances by a local firm of consultants which recommends an immediate and radical overhaul at Oriel Park if the club is to survive.

Dundalk lost more than £113,000 last season and now has debts of over £240,000 and ambitious expansion of the club's commercial operations as well as the recruitment of a full-time chief executive is now likely to be undertaken.

"There is no question whatsoever about the ability to get through the coming season," said McGuill before last night's meeting "what we are looking at here is the prevention of a long-term problem and I think the report raises a lot of interesting ideas."