Ex-Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson has revealed he has filed for bankruptcy.
But despite Thompson hitting ‘rock bottom’, he is eyeing a return to football having left Dundee United in 2018.
Thompson joined the board at Tannadice in 2002 whilst his father Eddy was the chairman. He then stepped up to the chief executive role after Eddy died following a battle with cancer.
Thompson was CEO and then chairman when United won the 2010 Scottish Cup but was still at the helm when the club were relegated to the Scottish Championship six years later – he described his time at United as a rollercoaster ride.
Thompson files for bankruptcy
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Off The Ball show on Saturday, he told host Tam Cowan that after selling his father Eddy’s retail chain business, he’s found himself in serious financial difficulty.
He said: “I’ve kind of hit rock bottom to be honest. I signed a petition for bankruptcy yesterday which isn’t a great place to be in life.
“The stores were making money but we started out at the wrong time. I’d like to get back in football but it’s not easy to get back into.
“I had 17 of years of my life in football. It’s what you know, it’s in your blood. I watched United since I was four years old so I’m a football guy.
“I feel I’ve got something to offer. We had a lot of success at Dundee United, I know it didn’t end well. I sat on the league board for six years, done transfers fees, sell on clauses so I know how it works.
“You’re on a steep learning curve at the start but you don’t forget it and I feel I’ve got something to offer someone.
“I was damaged by it but not now. It certainly affected me for a while. Living in your home city, and Dundee isn’t huge, is tough for anyone who owns a club.
“But it is what it is. I was damaged for a wee while but you get over that.
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster. We went from winning the Scottish Cup to getting relegated so you can’t get higher and lower than that.
“I love the club but it didn’t end the best way. It was a hard act to follow in the footsteps of my dad – and he left me with £7.2million of debt as well which was fun. We got it down to £1m.”
Thompson on the Dundee United managers he hired and fired
Thompson continued: “Paul Hegarty was one of my heroes as a kid and I sacked him twice. It’s not a very pleasant thing to do but you’ve got to run the business.
“It’s hard picking a manager. I was talking to Alan Burrows a couple of weeks ago and it’s all analytics now.
“The best football we played was under Jackie McNamara but things didn’t always go well, particularly towards the end.
“It’s common in England (that mangers get a cut of players’ transfer fees) but not in Scotland. It was part of the negotiations and people said he wanted to sell them to make money.
“Every club in Scotland has to sell players to survive or the owner has to put money in. Bojan Miovski covers one year’s operating losses! It’s quite frightening.
“We used to have a gap of about £750,000-£1m so you have to fill it. The only club with money in the bank is Celtic.”