THE financial crisis engulfing Darlington Football Club took a new twist late last night when the administrator announced the majority of the first team squad had been released.

In a statement on the club’s website, administrator Dave Clark said the players had been allowed to leave with immediate effect, and confirmed that an interim manager would not be appointed over the summer.

Players have only been paid a percentage of their wages since the club was placed in administration in February by former chairman George Houghton.

Ten staff, including assistant manager Martin Gray, were laid-off on Wednesday.

Scott Thornberry, who runs fans’ website Darlo Uncovered, said last night the news about the players being released was not unexpected, but described it as a “sucker punch” for fans.

The statement on the club website said: “Following the end of the playing season and the expiry of the player deferral agreements and considering the reduced levels of income in the close season, the administrator has unfortunately been forced to allow the majority of the first team playing squad to leave the club with immediate effect.

“This decision has been made to enable the club to trade for as long as possible in order to allow any potential buyer as much time as possible in order to make an offer for the club.

“Craig Liddle and Neil Maddison have been retained and will be taking control of general football management immediately.”

The announcement came as Mr Clark rounded on the fans, blaming them for driving away potential investors.

Mr Clark, who warned this week that the club was on the brink of disaster unless a buyer could be found, said abuse directed at Mr Houghton risked alienating possible saviours.

He has been subjected to a torrent of abuse from fans since he placed the club into administration.

While many of the attacks have been online, the abuse has become more prevalent in the past two weeks.

Things came to a head when Mr Houghton’s business and home details were posted online and a fan burst into the boardroom for the home game with Brentford to harangue him. Last weekend, he was advised not to attend a special fundraising match.

Mr Clark, from administrators Brackenbury Clark and Co, said: “The fans are making it worse by chasing Mr Houghton away. If another chairman comes in and sees the way he has been threatened, they will be put off.”

Mr Clark said fans were also bombarding his offices with inquiries, including queries about cash raised by the allstars match last Sunday. He said the game raised between £20,000 and £25,000.

However, the money was not enough to prevent the ten jobs being cut on Wednesday.

The club’s only potential investor, Raj Singh, saw his bid rejected on the same day because the administrator believes it to be unworkable.

When asked if another bidder might come forward, Mr Clark said: “Who knows? The state of the economy doesn’t help. The crowds coming into the ground don’t help. The response to the charity game didn’t help.

“We were looking for a big response (from the fans) and we only got a partial response.

It doesn’t look good for a potential investor.”

Mr Clark said that Mr Houghton would not be returning as chairman.

Mr Singh said Mr Houghton’s value of the club, stadium and land was “totally unrealistic” and that Mr Houghton wanted to keep hold of the stadium because it was the only part of the company making money.

He added: “We upped the bid on Tuesday night for a final throw of the dice but it doesn’t seem to be making sense what is going on.”

Mr Singh said there were too many parties involved in the talks, including two businessmen who have a mortgage on the land.

Philip Scott, who is now chief executive of the Priory healthcare group, and Graham Sizer, a former financial director of Southern Cross healthcare, loaned the club money 18 months ago. The sum is claimed to have been £1.7m.

The pair both used to work for Southern Cross, one of the UK’s largest care home operators which has its headquarters in Darlington.

Football finance expert Professor Tom Cannon, from Liverpool University, said the future looked bleak because administration had happened “in a difficult time and difficult area”.

He suggested the best option would be for the supporters’ trust to take ownership of the club.

He said: “It has worked at a number of clubs. It is not an easy solution and it needs a lot of hard work”