Derry City manager Stephen Kenny has blamed the club's current financial problems on its failure to meet predicted revenue targets.
Speaking to RTÉ's Darren Frehill, Kenny said that Derry City players have not been paid for almost two months and were told they were unlikely to be paid again this week.
Asked how the club had ended up in such severe financial difficulties, he said: 'I don’t know to be honest. Mainly because the target revenue that was predicted hasn’t materialised.'
He said that loss of sponsorship has also led to the club being in difficulty, even though City had sold three players to Scottish Premier League clubs at the start of the season, raising £350,000.
He added: 'It is not sustainable at the moment at the club. We’re not like other clubs that have struggled in the past – like Drogheda, St Pat’s or Cork City – because of the way they are structured where a few directors have put serious amounts of money into the club.
'That hasn’t been the case at Derry. It is largely a community based club. It is more based on a business plan that has not gone well because we have been unable to bring revenue in because of all the obvious reasons with the economic downturn.'
Kenny said that two players were engaged to be married and that several had bought property over the last few years but that despite not being paid his squad was training every day.
He admitted he genuinely feared for the club and that the community would have to work together to get out of its current difficulties.
Asked if Derry City should rejoin the Irish League, Kenny said his own preference was for Derry to stay in the League of Ireland although he admitted it would be easier to get travelling support to visit Derry if the club did switch competitions.
