Alarm bells were raised about the club’s financial health following last Thursday’s 2-1 loss at home to St Patrick’s Athletic when Lilywhites manager Jon Daly confirmed to the media that players and staff had not been paid.
And those fears were compounded on Monday night when owner Brian Ainscough confirmed that the club is in financial difficulty and faces a big challenge to make it to the end of the season.
In response, Dundalk supporters have rallied behind the club and a GoFundMe page set up by the 1903 Supporters Club has raised almost €16k in the space of two days but there are still huge question marks hanging over the club’s future.
Speaking on Thursday, Horgan confirmed that the players had received the unpaid wages and he said that a win in Waterford would offer some respite to everyone connected to the club.
“It’s been a really, really difficult two weeks for everyone,” said the 32-year-old. “The situation with the wages has been far from ideal but that has been sorted for the meantime and we have a massive game to play tomorrow.
“It’s been hard for everybody, especially for our fans who love the club, but their response has been unbelievable, as you can see with the GoFundMe that was set up.
“To see people going out of their way to help out is an absolute credit to the fans and the players really appreciate it. It’s a huge plus to have that backing because we know they love the club and that this is the last thing anyone in Dundalk wants to see happen.
“You go out every Friday night wanting to win a game of football but after all that has gone on this week, I think it would mean a bit more in Waterford.
“People have put their hands in their pocket and it shows the real community element that exists in Dundalk, and at all League of Ireland football clubs.
“We’ll have to see what happens going forward but at the minute we need everyone to stick together, fans, players, staff, everyone and three points on Friday night would be a big way of bringing us all together.”
A win against the Blues would also see Dundalk leapfrog Drogheda United and move off the bottom of the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division table and Horgan agreed that preserving the club’s top-flight status was essential for whatever happens in the future.
“I know different things are being mentioned about debt and things like that but Dundalk Football Club is a very, very attractive proposition to anyone
“With this club’s history, its fanbase, and a really good academy system, there’s a lot of positives but we know how important it is to be in the Premier Division next year. We don’t want to be in a position where we’re relegated and the club becomes a lot less appealing.
“While everything has been brewing in the background we’ve been fully focused on the game in Waterford and hopefully we can go down there and give a really good account of ourselves.
“If we can keep playing and working and do the stuff we know we can do then we believe we can stay in the Premier Division which, for the season that’s in it, would be a massive achievement.”
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