Dundalk manager Jon Daly admitted he was in the dark about the club's future after confirming that players and staff had not been paid this week.
Reports emerged on Tuesday that owner Brian Ainscough was considering his future at Oriel Park just over nine months after acquiring the Louth outfit from Seán O’Connor, Alan Clarke and Andy Connolly.
While talks are understood to have taken place with a number of parties in recent days about a potential handover, any hopes of a deal happening will not be helped by the club’s current outstanding debt, which is said to be well in excess of €1m.
With Dundalk currently languishing at the foot of the League of Ireland Premier Division table, the uncertainty over the ownership has raised concerns locally about the club’s ability to see out the rest of the season.
Those fears were heightened on the eve of their clash with St Patrick’s Athletic on Thursday when players and staff weren’t paid.
While Daly, who only took charge of the Lilywhites at the end of May, said he is hopeful that the situation will be resolved soon, he said it was very much a wait-and-see approach from those on the ground at Oriel Park.
"I think in any line of work, it's the least you expect when you do your job - to get paid"
"We were told it would be late but you’ll believe it when you see it," he said in relation to the unpaid wages.
"It’s one of those that you just have to take people’s word on what they tell you. Fingers crossed, all going well, it happens and then the boys can do what they need to do.
"I think in any line of work, it’s the least you expect when you do your job - to get paid. It’s obviously very difficult but hopefully in the next couple of days that gets sorted."
With the club’s players set to meet with players’ union the PFAI next week, Daly said he was hopeful that Dundalk would be in a better position by the time they face Waterford FC away next Friday.
Asked if he was hopeful of travelling to the RSC amid rumours the club could cease trading before then, Daly said: "As far as I know, I think that would be very extreme if that was to happen. I don’t see that but, listen, I don’t know.
"I just focus on the football and we’ll just try to help the players as much as we can with anything else that has gone on off the pitch."
The former Republic of Ireland underage international said the uncertainty surrounding everyone’s futures was the most difficult thing to deal with but praised his players for their application despite going down 2-1 against his old club St Patrick’s Athletic on Thursday night.
"It’s not easy," he said.
"For me, the uncertainty of not knowing what is going on is the hardest part. If you know where you’re at and you know what is happening then it is easier to deal with, but when you don’t know what’s going on and you’re in the dark on it all, it’s very difficult.
"Obviously myself, the players and other staff don’t really know the ins and outs of what is going on. We’re kind of reading what you guys are reporting in the press and that’s kind of where it’s at at the moment.
"We spoke to the owner and he has told us that we will be paid a little bit late, so we just need to take his word for it and hope that it follows through"
"We’re obviously trying to focus on the football but it does make it difficult and it doesn’t help. I can’t get into the heads of the players but you’re trying to keep them focused as much as you can. I think it’s a credit to them the effort they put in tonight. You could see they weren’t thinking about the stuff that has gone on off the park and hopefully over the next couple of days things happen that give us answers."
Daly, whose family reside in Scotland where he played for Dundee Utd, Rangers and Raith Rovers, confirmed he had given the players the weekend off and reiterated his hope that the outstanding wages would be paid.
"We spoke to the owner and he has told us that we will be paid a little bit late, so we just need to take his word for it and hope that it follows through," he added.
"This is new to me in terms of how to deal with this and it becomes difficult when you’re living away from your family as well and you’re on your own.
"It is tough but I’ll try and manage that and we’ll hopefully know a little bit more in the coming days and hopefully we know where we stand.
"We’ve given the boys Friday and Saturday off. For myself, I’m going to go home and see my family. I’ve not seen them for a number of weeks, so I’m going to go home and see them.
"I’ll watch the game back probably tonight when I get in and then I’ll go home in the morning first thing and see my wife and kids and just try to switch off for a day at least before the attention turns to Waterford."
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