Inverness Caledonian Thistle have been issued with a 15-point deduction by the SPFL after being placed into administration.
The club are now bottom of League One on -3 points – 12 points behind their closest rivals – and will likely move to part-time football if they are relegated for a second consecutive season.
Caley Thistle had launched a crowdfunding page to raise £200,000 to see out the month, but they did not reach the target by last week’s deadline.
Manager Duncan Ferguson donated his wages and has been working for free in a bid to save the struggling club who needed between £1.4m to £1.6m to continue until the end of this season.
Inverness CT won the Scottish Cup in 2015 but now face relegation to the bottom tier of the SPFL
Talks were held with investors in the UK, United States, Denmark and the UAE over a takeover but no deal was agreed, with administrators now tasked with finding new owners. If unsuccessful – they could sell assets to raise funds for creditors.
Duncan Ferguson has been working for free at the club
A statement from the club said that James Stephen, Malcolm Cohen and Shane Crooks of BDO had been apppointed as joint administrators.
A spokesperson for BDO said: “We can confirm a formal appointment has been made and Inverness Caledonian Thistle is now in administration.
“We understand this will be a difficult and uncertain time for the club, its staff, its loyal fan base and the local community.
“The administrators will be in a position to provide further information and their plan to seek to secure the long term future of the club in due course.”