A BITTER row between Port Glasgow Juniors and Inverclyde Council remains unresolved — meaning the club is homeless ahead of the start of the new season tomorrow.

The local authority banned the club from training and playing anywhere in Inverclyde four months ago until they settled an unpaid rental bill of £8,000 for using Parklea, pictured.

Club bosses hotly dispute the claims that they owe money and both parties have been at loggerheads.

The Port are preparing for their season opener against Renfrew tomorrow which is, fortunately, an away game.

But it is unknown where the club will play their home matches, with time running out ahead of their first home fixture on Wednesday 20 August.

A council spokesman said today: “We have tried to engage with the club but no response has been received.

“Until suitable proposals for settling their outstanding debts with the council are in place, Port Glasgow Juniors may not use council football facilities.” The Tele has made several attempts to contact the club secretary Peter Loughlin this week but we have yet to receive a response.

Earlier this year Mr Loughlin said negotiations with the council were ‘better than ever’ and a resolution looked close.

Port manager Craig Brown has a team assembled and is raring to go but the Tele understands his preparations for the new campaign have been hampered by the off-field dispute.

A source said: “They have had nowhere to train.

“Last Saturday Dalry Thistle Juniors played at Parklea in a practice match against Erskine Amateurs.

“The dispute is long-running.

“The Port were playing for decades at Woodhall and paid £100 in rent but they were kicked out for some fictitious factory development that never happened.

“The Port’s view is that the amount the council is asking for is too much — no other junior club in the country is being asked to pay that sort of amount.” Bosses from the Scottish Junior Football Association (SJFA) say they are in the dark about the situation.

Tom Johnston, secretary of the SJFA, says he has had no contact with the club for ‘some months’ and that the association must be notified of any changes of venue.

He said: “I don’t have any information on it at all.

“They would have to inform us of any change.

“If they don’t have a home ground for whatever reason they have to advise us of that and what their alternative is.”