Chairman's Progress Report

Bob Garmory thanks all of you for the determination, fortitude and patience you have shown over the last year.

Fellow Pars Fans

On behalf of the interim board of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, I write to thank all of you for the determination, fortitude and patience you have shown over the last year.

To say that the last year has been one of the most challenging in the 128 year history of our club is a major understatement. The very real threat that the Club would be liquidated was only averted because the Pars fans united in their efforts to ensure the survival of Dunfermline Athletic.

Last week we received the long awaited and very welcome news that we had exited administration, albeit on Friday the 13th! This now means we have complete control over the future direction that our football club will take. This is an onerous responsibility for each and every one of us as we are now duty bound to protect this Club and ensure that future generations of Pars fans can experience the same highs and lows that we have all 'enjoyed' in supporting our team.

At this point I would like to pay tribute to a number of people.
? Firstly to the staff of the Club and our (unpaid) General Managers who have worked so hard to put the Club back on its feet.
? Secondly to the football management team of Jim Jeffries, Neil McCann, John Potter and Craig Dargo who have guided our young players through the last 12 months. We set ourselves the target of being in the play-offs at the end of the season. Given our current league position we are well on the way to achieving this goal.
? Thirdly to our young team who are proving such a joy, not only to watch, but to meet. Their performances both on and off the park belie their years and they have shown a maturity that should be admired.
? Fourthly we must not forget the huge debt we owe Stephen Wright and his team for all their efforts in the past to produce so many of the talented footballers we are now privileged to watch.

There is still much to be done to improve how things are done at the Club. The matchday experience for all who attend must be enhanced to ensure that everyone feels they have been appropriately treated. The recent revamp of Legends shows what can be achieved without a great deal of expenditure and there are similar initiatives in the pipeline for other parts of the stadium.

The stadium itself needs some care and attention and to that end we have appointed a Stadium Management Group who are already working with the Stadium Manager to remedy some of the problems identified.

Our huge success in getting 800 people signed up for the Centenary Lifeline by this week far exceeds any target we could reasonably have set ourselves. It now means our 1000 member target is no longer a distant prospect but now a distinct possibility in the next few months.

There will be new challenges to face as we go forward into next year, however if the Pars fans meet those challenges in the same way they have met every other challenge thrown at them, I have no doubt that we will prevail.

There is still a need for us to continue our fund raising activities and to volunteer to assist the Club in whatever way we can to ensure that we secure the type of future we want for our club.

Furthermore, we must ensure that we never again find ourselves in a situation where our costs outstrip our income and our ambitions are funded on credit as we have all come to realise the perils of that sort of financial behaviour.

All it remains for me to say is, on behalf of all the members of the interim board of Dunfermline Athletic, I wish all Pars fans and their families wherever you may be, a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Come on ye Pars
Bob Garmory
Chairman