DARLINGTON Football Club is losing £54,000 a week, its outgoing chairman said yesterday as the club plunged into administration for the second time in six years.

But despite having total debts of about £5m, administrator Dave Clark said that, within 30 minutes of him taking over, he had received an expression of interest from a potential buyer.

On a day that was as dark as any in the club’s 125-year history, the extent of the crisis facing the Quakers became clear: ● George Houghton, who has owned the club for two-and-ahalf years, confirmed yesterday’s exclusive story in The Northern Echo that he was putting it into administration because it was losing £54,000 a week; ● Mr Houghton has pumped in £1.1m since December and is the major creditor, owed about £3m; ● He blames dwindling crowds and a drawn-out planning process that has prevented him from starting work on a revenue-generating hotel project; ● He is retaining ownership of the stadium and surrounding land; ● He would be happy to enter a consortium with local business people who could put in £300,000 a year each; ● Darlington officially entered administration at 3pm; at 3.50pm, the Football Association docked ten points as punishment, dropping the Quakers four places down the table; ● Administrator Mr Clark said he was looking for potential purchasers with £2m and had already had several approaches; ● But as he seeks to cut costs, there are likely to be redundancies and wage deferrals.

However, by last night Mr Clark sounded optimistic that, even in the midst of the credit crunch, a new owner could be found, perhaps by the early summer.

He said: “We have a successful team playing at the right end of the table, which is unusual in an administration situation.

“We have good facilities, a good manager and good staff.

The whole feel of the club, bar the administration process, is actually quite positive.

“We have a chairman who is prepared to support and assist us in our attempts to sell the club. I think everything is in place that would make it quite positive.”

He continued: “The amount of debt is less than £5m, which is sustainable. It’s then up to a potential purchaser to come forward and think ‘We could do this or that differently’.

That could then enable them to turn this club into profit.”

In an exclusive video interview on The Northern Echo’s website, Mr Houghton said: “I have put millions of pounds into this club and it is with a heavy heart that I have taken this decision. It’s a big black hole, and eventually you have to ask ‘How much am I going to keep on putting in?’ I don’t want to end up in the black hole as well.”