Troubled Gretna Football Club could go out of business on Thursday.

Administrators who have taken control of the Scottish Premier League side have confirmed they need to find £30,000 by Thursday lunchtime to keep Gretna afloat.

David Elliot, of administrators Wilson Field, said the cash would be used to pay players' wages and provide transport and accommodation for the club's away game at Aberdeen on Saturday.

And he revealed they were in discussions with an unidentified "benefactor" to come up with the emergency money.

"The club has a fixture on Saturday in Aberdeen and needs funds for transportation, accommodation and wages," Elliot told a press conference in Gretna.

"We are looking for a scenario where emergency funding can be put in place to allow time for more medium to long-term funding to be obtained.

"To fulfil that fixture on Saturday, I need to be able to secure emergency funding to pay the wages and to secure transportation and an overnight stay.

"I estimate that would be £30,000.

"At this point in time, I don't have it.

"I would not allow people to work and not be paid their wages.

"If I can't see that they can be paid their wages then I would have to stop.

"I cannot allow the position to get worse.

"We are in negotiations with somebody but I'm not prepared to tell you who it is.

"If I haven't got an answer by lunchtime tomorrow, it will be too late to start booking hotels and transportation and to convince the players to stay on.

"This is critical, this is not a bluff.

"Gretna are potentially 24 hours from oblivion.

"I would have to stop the club."

Mr Elliot confirmed Scottish Premier League officials have offered a £100,000 advance on money due to Gretna at the end of the season.

But the cash will only come if the Black and Whites can find £30,000 for this weekend's game and show they can play out the rest of the season.

"The football authorities are saying to me that they will advance those monies at 48 hours notice provided we can show that the club can fulfil its fixtures until the end of the season," Elliot said.

"My main concern is that we run out of time.

"The first step is emergency funding for Saturday to be in my bank account by lunchtime tomorrow.

"That gives us the window of opportunity to go to the league and say: 'The amount we require, we believe, until the end of the season, is this, can you cover that?'

"And if they can, they say they will have the funds to me within 48 hours.

"My main concern is whether we can get past lunchtime tomorrow."

Elliot acknowledged Gretna would be "finished" if that cash could not be found by Thursday lunchtime.

He also made revelations about the crisis behind the scenes.

He said the club owed £350,000 to the Inland Revenue who last week told Gretna they would be taking court action on Monday of this week to have the club put into liquidation.

Elliot also said two former managers had put in claims of £800,000 and £100,000 for breach of contract.

He said there was hire-purchase debt outstanding on cars and cash owed to groundshare landlords, Motherwell, whose Fir Park home they are sharing this season.

Elliot added: "There is intense pressure from creditors. I anticipate many other claims."

Going into administration means Gretna suffer a 10-point penalty. They are now all but relegated, sitting at just six points.

Should they go out of business, however, that could have a huge impact further up the league.

If Gretna were to fold, it seems certain all points won against them this season would be taken away from clubs.

Fourth-placed Dundee United have taken just three points from three games against the Black and Whites this season, while Motherwell, in third, have taken nine.

United, who were one point behind Motherwell ahead of Wednesday's game at Celtic and Motherwell's match at Hibernian, would go clear of the Steelmen with the six-point swing.

Aberdeen remain hopeful their weekend game against Gretna will go ahead as planned.

Dons managing director Duncan Fraser has been kept in touch with developments at Gretna by SPL secretary Iain Blair.

Fraser said: "I have been speaking regularly with Iain Blair at Hampden and he, in turn, has been in contact with the administrator and we are hopeful that the situation will be resolved tomorrow.

"It is obviously out of Aberdeen's hands and whether we play at the weekend will be down to the administrator and Gretna's owner and, while nobody takes any pleasure at their predicament, it is in everyone's interest for a swift outcome one way or the other.

"However, we naturally want to play and we are hopeful that Gretna will be here on Saturday as planned.

"If they are not then there are obviously ramifications, not just for Aberdeen, but for every club in the SPL."

Gretna's future was cast into doubt when the club's main backer Brooks Mileson fell ill last month.

His financial support has since been withdrawn, and Gretna have no chance of survival with their current wage bill combined with small crowds.

Just 501 supporters attended last week's Fir Park match against Dundee United, an all-time low for the SPL.

Should they survive, Gretna will almost certainly have to lay off first-team players and rely on their loan signings and their youth side to fulfil their remaining 10 SPL fixtures.

Chief executive Graeme Muir resigned on Wednesday, but told BBC Sport: "It's been a great experience. And I have a lot of respect for Brooks Mileson.

"Things don't last forever and the history books will show the success he had.

"We relied on one man; on his health and his wealth.

"We tried to adopt a more common sense approach this season and probably halved the payroll but, unfortunately, it was too late.

"I sincerely hope the community of Gretna can keep its football club, wherever they end up playing."

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