Livingston due in court as Ged Nixon asks for £311k

The latest development has left supporters fearing the club could be forced into administration for a third time. Picture: SNS

Nixon’s legal team will ask Lord Tyre at the Court of Session in Edinburgh tomorrow morning to authorise an ‘Arrestment of Funds Order’.

If Nixon is successful, funds will be ring-fenced ahead of March’s court hearing, with Nixon suing the West Lothian outfit for £311,000. The latest development has left supporters fearing their club could be forced into administration for a third time after suffering insolvency events in 2004 and 2009.

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Livingston are due to pay their monthly wage bill on Christmas Day and club officials were yesterday looking at how this court ruling could affect their cash flow. But with much of Livingston’s estimated £1.5 million debt due to chairman Gordon McDougall, vice-chairman Robert Wilson, shareholder Neil Rankine and Nixon, it is thought the club is under no threat in the short-term.

McDougall, Rankine and Nixon were all unwilling to speak publicly yesterday, while manager John McGlynn would only confirm that he was aware of tomorrow’s court date.

Livi For Life Supporters Trust board member Don Paul said: “There is a fight going on between Ged Nixon and Neil Rankine and they appear to detest each other, and the club is stuck in the middle. It has nothing to do with the players and the fans, but it’s Livingston Football Club that is having its name dragged through the mud again.”

Nixon, McDougall, Rankine and Wilson all pooled their cash to take the club out of administration five years ago. But Nixon stepped down from his post in October last year following a fall-out with Rankine, who controls a 50 per cent shareholding.

In a club website statement in August, Livingston admitted paying undeclared bonuses to players in 2010 and 2011 and blamed Nixon. They got a five-point penalty and £10,000 fine.

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