There is still hope that Kilmarnock will be bought by fans. A new Killie supporter-based consortium are looking to buy the majority shareholding of chairman Michael Johnston. The Killie (Community) Working Party do have conditions like Johnston reaching an agreement to wipe out the club's debt. This is the second fan-based bid to take over the 145-year-old club. Supporters Direct Scotland, who have been involved in negotiations for fan takeovers at both Dunfermline and Hearts in recent months, have been helping to facilitate preliminary discussions at Rugby Park.
A spokesman for the new consortium said: "We would like to acknowledge the work being undertaken by the chairman to make the club debt-free and would positively encourage him to make every effort to come to an agreement with the club bankers and other significant lenders to reduce the debt to zero. The Killie (Community) Working Party would like to make an offer to purchase the chairman's entire shareholding if this can be achieved. This offer would be contingent on a fair valuation and the completion of a satisfactory due diligence process. We firmly believe that fan and community ownership is where that lies rather than relying on a single majority shareholder who won't be around for ever. The only constants at any club are the fans and the community. We will shortly launch our formal efforts to raise the money to take the club into community ownership and we hope that the business community - both private and public - as well as community groups and supporters will get behind us."