Fraser Wishart, assistant secretary of the Professional Footballers' Association, has called for an independent inquiry into Scottish football in light of Dundee preparing to follow Motherwell down the road to administration.

He and his SPFA colleague, Tony Higgins, were instrumental in fighting for the 19 players made redundant at Fir Park and won a landmark victory when the SPL agreed that the players were owed compensation. Wishart has been unsurprised by the recent developments at Dens Park, and has sufficient evidence littering his office to be convinced that this is merely the tip of the iceberg, so he has called on the authorities to sanction a thorough investigation into the true extent of Scottish football's debt.

''It's in a dreadful state and I would urge the governing bodies to push for an independent inquiry on the game as a whole,'' he said yesterday. ''There has never been so much money in the game, and the launch of the SPL was regarded as a brave new dawn, but it has been anything but.''

He has already held informal discussions with Dundee players worried about their futures, with today's press conference likely to be followed by a fire sale. They will at least be in a stronger position than the Motherwell players whose contracts were ripped up before the arrival of the administrator, Bryan Jackson. Wishart is anxious to avoid a repeat scenario.

''Twenty months after Motherwell went into administration we still don't have any policies to deal with the situation,'' he said.

DARRYL BROADFOOT