Portsmouth chief executive has his say on Bury’s fight for survival

Mark Catlin has spoken of his pain at witnessing Bury’s financial difficulties.
Pompey chief executive Mark CatlinPompey chief executive Mark Catlin
Pompey chief executive Mark Catlin

The Shakers are making the headlines for the wrong reasons after securing promotion to League One, with the club facing financial difficulties.

Catlin worked at the club as a director for three years until 2012, with the club debt free and gaining promotion in that period.

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It’s a different story at present, however, with the club’s players not being paid and Bury receiving a winding-up petition.

Catlin’s sympathy is with those at Gigg Lane feeling the pain at preesnt.

The Pompey chief executive said: ‘I’m still in touch with a lot of people there from my time at the club.

‘They are a good bunch and it’s just not nice to see.

‘The message is one of support and I would hope that would be the case from everyone.

‘It will be the message from the entire football family.

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‘That should be the case for any club who is going through difficulties.

‘You have sympathy because a lot of the time it’s not the people who made the decisions which got them there who suffer the most.

It appears Bury have overstretched on financial commitment to players as they seeked to progress up the leagues in recent years.

But Catlin feels that doesn’t place responsibility at the doors of those given the contracts.

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He added: ‘When you sign a player on x amount the player enters into that contract in good faith.

‘He’s reliant on the club to run it in a responsible way.

‘It’s not their fault or their place really to delve into the finances of that club.

‘You sign in good faith and hope the owners run the club in a stable way.’