Gretna FC face liquidation after their administrators were unable to find a buyer for the club. Photograph: Chris Clark/PA

The Scottish Football League has received Gretna’s resignation, confirming their disappearance from professional football.

Gretna, who entered administration in March and subsequently made all their40 employees redundant, had been demoted to the Third Division last weekafter being unable to provide guarantees over their long-term future. Nolonger a football club, they now exist solely as a company name on atroubled balance sheet.

The man who had bankrolled the club’s remarkable rise from Scottishfootball’s fourth tier to the Premier League, Brooks Mileson, has withdrawnpersonal funding which reached £8m; Gretna were therefore unable toservice debts of about £4m. Mileson, believed to be seriously ill,has not been seen nor heard of in public amid Gretna’s financialdifficulties.

They have now ceased trading, only two years after appearing in a ScottishCup final and qualifying for the Uefa Cup. All that remains is for Gretna’sremaining assets to be sold and the company wound up.

The SFL, meanwhile, have set a deadline of June 12 for applications toreplace Gretna in the Third Division. Edinburgh outfit Spartans and CoveRangers, of the Highland League, are the early favourites, although AnnanAthletic and Preston Athletic will also be considered.

About this articleCloseThis article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday June 03 2008. It was last updated at 13:58 on June 03 2008.

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